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THE  HIVE 

OP 

^^TlIE   BEE-nUNTER/' 


PECULIAPw   AMERICAN   CHARACTER,   SCENERY, 
AND  RURAL  SPORTS. 


BYT.  Brr  n  0  R  p  E, 

OF   LOUISIANA. 

ACTUOB    or    "TOM    OWEN,    TUE    BEK-nrNTER ; ''     "  MT8TBRIK8    OF    THE    BACK- 
WOODS,"  ETC.   ETC 


ILLUSTRATED   BY  SKETCHES  FROM  NATURE. 


NEW-YORK : 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

346     &     84  8     BROADWAY. 
LONDON:    16    LITTLE    BRITAIN. 

M.UCCC.LIV. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1S54, 

By  D.  APPLETON  «fc  COMPANY, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 

Southern  District  of  New-York. 


* 


TO 

THE    LOVERS    OF    NATURE, 

WHETHER    RESIDING    L\    THE    CROWDED    CITY,    PLEASANT 
VILLAGE,    OR    NATIVE    WILD, 

'(Eljis  'Mmi 

IS    CORDIALLY    DEDICATED. 


507T20 


PREFACE. 


The  "  Hive  of  the  Bee-Hunter"  has  one  ob- 
ject, which  the  author  would  impress  upon  such 
readers  as  may  honor  him  with  their  attention. 

An  effort  has  been  made,  in  the  course  of 
these  sketches,  to  give  to  those  personally  unac- 
quainted with  the  sceneiy  of  the  southwest,  some 
idea  of  the  countiy,  its  surface,  and  vegetation. 

In  these  matters,  the  author  has  endeavored 
to  be  critically  correct,  indulging  in  the  honest 
ambition  of  giving  some  information,  while  de- 
picting the  germinating  evidences  of  the  great 
original  characters  national  to  these  localities. 

The  southwest,  with  its  primeval  and  evergreen 
forests,  its  unbounded  i^rairies,  and  its  many  and 
continuous  rivers,  presents  contributions  of  nature, 
wliich  the  pilgrims  from  every  land,  for  the  first 
time,  behold  with  wonder  and  awe. 


PREFACE. 


Here,  in  their  vast  interior  solitudes,  far  re- 
moved from  trans-Atlantic  influences,  are  alone 
to  be  found,  in  the  more  comparative  infancy  of 
our  country,  characters  truly  sui  generis — truly 
American. 

What  man  would  be,  uninfluenced  by  contact 
with  the  varied  associations  of  long  civilization,  is 
here  partially  demonstrated  in  the  denizens  of  the 
interior  of  a  mighty  continent. 

The  discovery  of  America, — its  vast  extent, — 
and  its  developing  destiny, — present  facts,  which 
far  surpass  the  wildest  imagery  of  the  dreamers 
of  the  olden  times. 

There  are  growing  up,  in  these  primitive  wilds, 
men,  whose  daily  life  and  conversation,  when  de- 
tailed, form  exaggerations  ;  but  whose  histories 
are,  after  all,  only  the  natural  developments  of 
the  mighty  associations  which  surround  them. 


CONTENTS. 


Wild  Turkey  Hunting 9 

Summer  Retreat  in  Arkansas 28 

Tom  Owen,  the  Bee-IIunter 47 

Arrow-P'isuing 54 

TiiE  Big  Bear  of  Arkansas Y2 

The  Mississippi 

Large  and  Small  Steamers  on  tue  Mississippi 


A  Storm  Scene  on  the  Mississippi   . 
Grizzly  Bear  Hunting  . 
A  Piano  in  Arkansas 


94 

105 


Familiar  Scenes  on  the  Mississippi       .         .         .         .  114 


12G 

135 

.       145 
"Wild-Cat  Hunting         .  155 

Mike  Fink,  the  Keel-Boatman Ig3 

Alligator  Killing jg^ 


8  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

Buffalo  Hunting 1^^ 

Scenes  in  Buffalo  Hunting 213 

Woodcock  Fire-Hunting 225 

The  Watee  Craft  of  the  Back- Woods        .        .        .  232 

Place  de  La  Croix •  240 

Opossl-m  Hunting .  255 

A  "Hoosier"  in  Search  of  Justice         ....  266 

Major  Gasden's  Story  ....  .        .  271 

The  Great  Four-Mile  Day 280 

The  Way  that  Americans  go  down  Hill  .  802 


WILD  TURKEY  IIU>TING. 

ORiGDiALLY,  the  wild  turkey  was  found  scattered 
throughout  the  whole  of  our  continent,  its  habits  only 
diflering,  where  the  peculiarity  of  the  seasons  compelled 
it  to  provide  against  excessive  cold  or  heat.  In  the 
"  clearing,"  it  only  lives  in  its  excellent  and  degenerated 
descendant  of  the  farm-yard,  but  in  the  vast  prairies  and 
forests  of  the  "  far  west,''  this  bird  is  still  abundant, 
and  makes  an  important  addition  to  the  fare  of  wild  life. 

It  is  comparatively  common  on  the  *'  frontiers,"  but 
every  passing  year  lessens  its  numbers  ;  and  as  their  dis- 
appearance always  denotes  their  death,  their  extermina- 
tion is  progressive  and  certain. 

In  Louisiana,  Alabama,  South  Carolina,  and  other 
southern  states,  there  are  fastnesses,  in  which  they  will 
find  support  and  protection  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
The  swamps  and  lowlands  that  offer  no  present  induce- 


10  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

ment  to  "  the  settler,"  will  shelter  them  from  the  rifle  ; 
and  in  the  rich  productions  of  the  soil,  they  find  a  super- 
abundance of  food. 

The  same  obscurity,  however,  that  protects  them, 
leaves  the  hole  of  the  wildcat  in  peace  ;  and  this  bitter 
enemy  of  the  turkey,  wars  upon  it,  and  makes  its  life  one 
of  cunning  and  care.  Nor,  is  its  finely-flavored  meat  un- 
appreciated by  other  destroyers,  as  the  fox  often  makes 
the  turkey  an  evening  meal,  while  the  weasel  contents 
itself  with  the  little  chicks.  The  nest,  however,  may 
have  been  made,  and  the  young  birds  may  have  in  peace 
broken  the  shell,  and  frightened  at  their  own  piping 
notes,  hidden  instinctively  away,  when  the  Mississippi 
will  rise,  bearing  upon  its  surface  the  waters  of  a  thou- 
sand floods,  swell  within  its  narrow  banks,  and  overflow 
the  lowlands.  The  young  bird,  unable  to  fly,  and  too 
delicate  to  resist  the  influence  of  the  wet,  sickens  and 

dies. 

Upon  the  dryness  of  the  season,  therefore,  the  tur- 
key-hunter builds  his  hopes  of  the  plentifulness  of  the 
game. 

Independent  of  the  pernicious  influence  of  unfavora- 
ble seasons,  or  the  devastation  of  the  wild  turkey  by 
destructive  animals,  their  numbers  are  also  annually 
lessened  by  the  skill  of  the  pioneer  and  backwoodsman, 
and  in  but  comparatively  a  few  more  years  the  bird  must 
have,  as  a  denizen  of  our  border  settlements,  only  a  tra- 
ditionary existence ;  for  the  turkey  is  not  migratory  in 


WILD    TURKEY    HINTING.  H 

its  liabits,  and  its  absence  from  any  of  its  accustomed 
haunts,  is  indicative  of  its  total  extermination  from  the 
place  where  it  was  once  familiar. 

At  present,  the  traveller  in  the  ''  far  west,''  while 
wending  his  solitary  way  through  the  trackless  forests, 
sometimes  very  unexpectedly  meets  a  drove  of  turkeys 
in  his  pathway,  and  when  his  imagination  suddenly 
warms  witli  the  thought  that  he  is  near  the  poultry -yard 
of  some  hospitable  farmer,  and  while  his  wearied  limbs 
seem  to  labor  with  extra  pain,  as  he  thinks  of  the  couch 
compared  with  the  cold  ground  as  a  resting-place,  he 
hears  a  sudden  whizzing  in  the  air,  a  confused  noise, 
and  his  seeming  evidences  of  civilization  and  comfort 
vanish  as  the  wild  turkey  disappears,  giving  hiui  by 
their  precipitate  flight,  the  most  painful  evidence  that  he 
is  far  from  the  haunts  of  men  and  home. 

Turkey  hunting  is  a  favorite  pursuit  with  all  who 
can  practise  it  with  success,  but  it  is  a  bird  liberally 
provided  by  nature  with  the  instinct  of  self-preservation, 
and  is,  therefore,  seldom  found  off  its  guard.  Skilful 
indeed  must  be  the  shot  that  stops  the  turkey  in  its 
flight  of  alarm,  and  yet  its  wings,  as  with  the  partridge 
and  quail,  are  little  used  for  the  purposes  of  escaping 
from  danger.  It  is  on  their  speed  that  they  rely  for 
^fety,  and  we  doubt  if  the  best  hounds  could  catch 
them  in  a  race,  even  if  the  turkey's  wings  were  clipped 
so  that  they  could  not  resort  to  height  to  elude  their 
pursuers.     So  little  indeed  docs  the  bird  depend  upon 


I         ^ 


12  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

its  pinions,  that  they  find  it  difficult  to  cross  rivers 
moderately  wide,  and  in  the  attempt  the  weak  and  very 
fat,  are  often  sacrificed. 

We  have  seen  the  wild  turkey  gathering  in  troops 
upon  the  limb  of  some  tall  cotton  wood  on  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  we  have  known  by  their  prepara- 
tions that  they  intended  to  cross  the  river.  There  on 
their  elevated  roost  they  would  set,  stretching  out  their 
necks  as  if  gathering  a  long  breath  for  their,  to  them, 
prolonged  flight.  In  the  mean  while,  the  "  squatter," 
on  the  opposite  bank,  would  prepare  himself  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  birds'  necessities.  Judging  from  expe- 
rience where  about  the  "  drove  "  would  land  on  his  side 
of  the  stream,  he  would  lie  concealed  until  the  flight 
commenced.  The  birds  would  finally  launch  themselves 
in  the  mid  air,  as  in  their  progress  it  could  be  seen  that 
they  constantly  descended  toward  the  earth, — the  bank 
would  be  reached,  but  numbers  exhausted  would  fail  to 
reach  the  land,  and  would  fall  a  prey  to  the  insatiate 
wave,  or  the  rapacious  wants  of  man. 

In  hunting  the  wild  turkey,  there  is  vmfortunately 
too  little  excitement  to  make  it  a  favorite  sport  with 
those  who  follow  the  hounds.  But  the  uncertainty  of 
meeting  with  the  bird,  even  if  you  know  its  haunts,  and 
the  sudden  termination  of  the  sport,  even  if  successful, 
makes  successful  turkey  hunters  few  and  far  between. 

The  cautiousness  of  the  wild  turkey  is  extraordinary  ; 
it  excels  that  of  the  deer,  or  any  other  game  whatever ; 


3^ 


WILD    TURKEY    HUNTING.  13 

and  notliing  but  stratagem,  and  an  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  habits  of  the  bird  by  the  hunter,  will  command 
success.  We  once  knew  an  Indian,  celebrated  for  all 
wood  craft,  who  made  a  comfortable  living  by  supplying 
a  frontier  town  with  game.  Often  did  he  greet  the  vil- 
lagers with  loads  of  venison,  with  grouse,  with  bear,  but 
seldom,  indeed,  did  he  oflfer  the  esteemed  turkey  for 
sale.  Upon  being  reproached  for  his  seeming  incapacity 
to  kill  the  turkey,  by  those  who  desired  the  bird,  he  de- 
feuded  himself  as  follows : 

"  Me  meet  moose — he  stop  to  eat,  me  shoot  him. 
Me  meet  bear — he  climb  a  tree,  no  see  Indian,  me  shoot 
him.  Me  meet  deer — he  look  up — say  may  be  Indian, 
may  be  stump — and  me  shoot  him.  Me  see  turkey  great 
way  oflf — he  look  up  and  say,  Indian  coming  sure — me 
no  shoot  turkey,  he  cunning  too  much." 

The  turkey  is  also  very  tenacious  of  life,  and  will 
often  escape  though  wounded  in  a  manner  that  would 
seem  to  defy  the  power  of  locomotion.  A  rifle  ball  has 
been  driven  through  and  through  the  body  of  a  turkey, 
and  yet  it  has  run  with  speed  for  miles.  Some  hunters 
have  been  fortunate  in  possessing  dogs  that  bave,  with- 
out any  instruction,  been  good  turkey  hunters.  These 
dogs  follow  the  scent,  lead  the  hunter  up  to  the  haunts 
of  the  bird,  lie  quiet  until  a  shot  is  had,  and  then  follow 
the  game  if  only  wounded,  until  it  is  exhausted,  and 
thus  secure  a  prize  to  the  hunter,  that  would  otherwise 
have  been  lost.      This  manner  of  hunting  the  turkey, 


14  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

however,  cannot  be  called  its  most  legitimate  form ;  as 
will  be  noticed  in  the  progress  of  our  chronicle. 

The  taste  that  makes  the  deer  and  fox  hunt  a  favor- 
ite amusement,  is  not  the  foundation  on  which  to  build 
a  true  turkey  hunter.  The  baying  of  hounds,  the 
clamor  of  the  horn,  the  excitement  of  the  chase,  the 
pell-mell  and  noisy  demonstration,  are  all  destructive  to 
the  successful  pursuit  of  the  turkey, — consequently,  the 
turkey  hunter  is  distinct  and  peculiar;  he  sympathises 
with  the  excentric  habits  of  the  bird,  with  its  love  of 
silence,  with  its  obscurity,  and  it  is  no  objection  to  him, 
if  the  morning  is  whiled  away  in  the  deep  solitude,  in 
comparative  inaction,  for  all  this  favors  contemplation 
worthy  of  an  intellectual  mind. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  describe  the  bird,  though  we 
never  see  it  fairly  represented  except  in  the  forest. 
The  high-mettled  racer  that  appears  upon  the  course 
is  no  more  superior  to  the  well  fed  cart-horse,  than  is 
the  wild  turkey  to  the  tame ;  in  fact,  nothing  living 
shows  more  points  of  health  and  purity  of  blood  than 
this  noble  bird.  Its  game  head,  and  clear  hazel  eye, 
the  clean,  firm  step,  the  great  breadth  of  shoulder,  and 
deep  chest,  strike  the  most  superficial  observer.  Then 
there  is  an  absolute  commanding  beauty  about  them, 
when  they  are  alarmed  or  curious;  then  they  elevate 
themselves  to  their  full  height,  bringing  their  head  per- 
pendicular with  their  feet,  and  gaze  about,  every  feather 
in  its  place,  the  foot  upraised  ready  at  an  instant  to 


Wn.D    TIUKEY    HUNTING,  15 

strike  off  at  a  speed,  that,  as  has  been   said  of  the  os- 
trich, "  scorneth  the  horse  and  his  rider." 

As  a  general  thing,  turkey-hunters,  if  they  be  of 
literary  habits,  read  Isaak  "Walton,  and  Burton's  "  Ana- 
tomy of  Melaneholy,"  and  all — learned  or  unlearned — 
are,  of  course,  enthusiastic  disciples  of  the  rod  and  line. 
The  piscator  can  be  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  ope- 
ra, the  wild  turkey-hunter  could  not  be,  for  his  taste 
never  carries  him  beyond  the  simple  range  of  natural 
notes.     Herein,  he  excels. 

Place  him  in  the  forest  with  his  pipe,  and  no  rough 
Pan  ever  piped  more  wilily,  or  more  in  harmony  with 
the  scenes  around  him.  The  same  tube  modulates  the 
sound  of  alarm,  and  the  dulcet  strains  of  love  ;  it  plays 
plaintively  the  complaining  notes  of  the  female,  and,  in 
sweet  chirrups,  calls  forth  the  lover  from  his  hiding- 
place  ;  it  carols  among  the  low  whisperings  of  the  fledg- 
ling, and  expresses  the  mimic  sounds  of  joy  at  the  trea- 
sure of  food,  that  is  discovered  under  the  fallen  leaf,  or 
half  hidden  away  in  the  decaying  wood. 

And  all  this  is  done  so  craftily,  that  ears,  on  which 
nature  has  set  her  stamp  of  peculiar  delicacy,  and  the 
instinct,  true  almost  as  the  shadow  to  the  sunlight;  are 
both  deceived. 

The  wild  turkey-hunter  is  a  being  of  solitude.  There 
is  no  noise  or  boisterous  mirth  in  his  pursuit. 

Even  the  dead  leaf,  as  it  sails  in  eircuitous  motion 
to  the  eartli,  intrudes  upon  his  caution,  and  alarms  the 


16  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTBR. 

wary  game,  which,  in  its  care  of  preservation,  flies  as 
swiftly  before  the  imaginary,  as  before  the  real  danger. 

Often,  indeed,  is  the  morning's  work  destroyed  by 
the  cracking  of  a  decayed  limb,  under  the  nimble  spring 
of  the  squirrel.  The  deer  and  timid  antelope  will  stop 
to  gratify  curiosity  ;  the  hare  scents  the  air  for  an  in- 
stant, when  alarmed,  before  it  dashes  ofi" ;  but  the  turkey 
never  speculates,  never  wonders  ;  suspicion  of  danger, 
prompts  it  to  immediate  flight,  as  quickly  as  a  reality. 

The  implements  of  the  turkey-hunter  are  few  and 
simple  ;  the  "  call,"  generally  made  of  the  large  bone  of 
the  turkey's  wing,  or  a  small  piece  of  wood,  into  which  is 
driven  a  nail,  and  a  small  piece  of  oil  stone  (the  head 
of  the  nail  on  being  quickly  scraped  on  the  stone,  pro- 
ducing perfectly  the  noise  of  the  female  turkey),  and  a 
double-barrel  fowling-piece,  complete  the  list.  A  rifle 
is  used  where  the  game  is  plentiful ;  and  the  person  using 
it,  as  we  have  already  described,  depends  upon  the  saga- 
city and  speed  of  the  dog,  to  rescue  the  wounded  bird, 
for  the  turkey  never  instantly  dies,  except  wounded  in 
the  brain. 

Where  turkeys  are  plentiful  and  but  little  hunted, 
unskilful  persons  succeed  in  killing  them ;  of  such  hunt^ 
ers  we  shall  not  speak. 

The  bird  changes  its  habits  somewhat  with  its 
haunts,  growing  wilder  as  it  is  most  pursued ;  it  may, 
therefore,  be  said  to  be  the  wildest  of  game.  Gaining 
in  wisdom  according  to   the  necessity,  it  is  a  diiferent 


WILD    TURKEY    HUNTING. 


bird  where  it  is  constantly  sought  for  as  game,  from 
where  it  securely  lives  in  the  untrodden  solitude.  The 
turkey  will,  therefore,  succeed  at  times  in  finding  u 
home  in  places  comparatively  ''  thickly  settled,'-  and 
be  so  seldom  seen,  that  they  are  generally  supposed  to 
be  extinct.  Under  such  circumstances,  they  fall  vic- 
tims only  to  the  very  few  hunters  who  may  be  said  to 
make  a  science  of  their  pursuit. 

"  I  rather  think,"  said  a  turkey-hunter,  "  if  you 
want  to  find  a  thing  very  cunning^  you  need  not  go  to 
the  fox  or  such  varmints,  but  take  a  gobbler.  I  once 
hunted  regular  after  the  same  one  for  three  years,  and 
never  saw  him  twice. 

"  I  knew  the  critter's  '  yelp'  as  well  as  I  know  Mu- 
sic's, my  old  deer  dog ;  and  his  track  was  as  plain  to 
me  as  the  trail  of  a  log  hauled  through  a. dusty  road. 

"  I  hunted  the  gobbler  always  in  the  same  '  range,' 
and  about  the  same  '  scratchins,'  and  he  got  so,  at  last, 
that  when  I  '  called,'  he  would  run  from  me,  taking  the 
opj)os,ite  direction  to  my  own  foot-tracks. 

"  Now,  the  old  rascal  kept  a  great  deal  on  a  ridge,  at 
the  end  of  which,  where  it  lost  itself  in  the  swamp,  was 
a  hollow  cypress  tree.  Determined  to  outwit  him,  I 
put  on  my  shoes,  heeh  foremost.,  walked  leisurely  down 
tlie  ridge,  and  got  into  the  hollow  tree,  and  gave  a 
*  call,'  and  boys,"  said  the  speaker  exultingly,  ''  it  w^uld 
have  done  you  good  to  see  that  turkey  coming  towards 
me  on  a  trot,  looking  at  my  tracks,  and  thinking  I  had 
g.nnc  the  otJtrr  iray." 


18  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUXTER. 

Of  all  turkej-hunters,  our  friend  W is  the  most 

experienced  ;  he  is  a  bachelor,  lives  upon  his  own  planta- 
tion, studies,  philosophizes,  makes  fishing  tackle,  and 
kills  turkeys.  With  him,  it  is  a  science  reduced  to  cer- 
tainty. Place  him  in  the  woods  where  turkeys  frequent, 
and  he  is  as  certain  of  them  as  if  already  in  his  pos- 
session. 

He  understands  the  habits  of  the  bird  so  well,  that 
he  will,  on  his  first  essay,  on  a  new  hunting-ground,  give 
the  exact  character  of  the  hunters  the  turkeys  have  been 
accustomed  to  deal  with.     The  most  crafty  turkeys  are 

those  which  W seeks,  hemmed  in  by  plantations, 

inhabiting  uncultivatable  land,  and  always  in  more  or 
less  danger  of  pursuit  and  discovery,  they  become,  under 
such  circumstances,  wild  beyond  any  game  whatever. 

They  seem  incapable  of  being  deceived,  and  taking 
every  thing  strange,  as  possessed  to  them  of  danger — 
whether  it  be  a  moth  out  of  season — or  a  veteran  hunt- 
er— they  appear  to  common,  or  even  uncommon  ob- 
servers, annihilated  from  the  country,  were  it  not  for 
their  footprints  occasionally  to  be  seen  in  the  soft  soil 
beside  the  running  stream,  or  in  the  light  dust  in  the 
beaten  road. 

A  veteran  gobbler,  used  to  all  the  tricks  of  the 
hunter's  art — one  who  has  had  his  wattles  cut  with 
shot;  against  whose  well-defended  breast  had  struck  the 
spent  ball  of  the  rifle — one  who,  though  almost  starved, 
would  walk  by  the  treasures  of  grain  in  the  "  trap"  and 


WILD    TURKEY    1IUNT1N<;.  19 

"  pen," — a  gobbler  who  will  listcu  to  the  plaiutivc  note  of 
the  female  until  he  has  tried  its  quavers,  its  length,  its  re- 
petitions, by  every  rule  nature  has  given  him — and  then, 
perhaps  not  answer,  except  in  a  smothered  voice,  for 
fear  of  being  deceived  ; — such  a  turkey  will  W se- 
lect to  break  a  lance  with,  and,  in  spite  of  the  chances 
against  him,  win. 

We  then  have  here  the  best  specimen  of  wild  tur- 
key-hunting ;  an  exhibition  of  skill  between  the  perfec- 
tion of  animal  instinct,  and  the  superior  intellect 
of  man. 

The  turkey-hunter,  armed  with  his  "call,"  starts 
into  the  forest ;  he  bears  upon  his  shoulder  the  trusty 
gun.  He  is  either  informed  of  the  presence  of  turkeys, 
and  has  a  particular  place  or  bird  in  view,  or  he  makes 
his  way  cautiously  along  the  banks  of  some  running 
Fteam;  his  progress  is  slow  and  silent;  it  may  be  that 
he  unexpectedly  hears  a  noise,  sounding  like  distant 
thunder ;  he  then  knows  that  he  is  in  close  proximity 
of  the  game,  and  that  he  has  disturbed  it  to  flight. 
"When  such  is  the  case,  his  work  is  comparatively  done. 
We  will,  for  illustration,  select  a  more  difficult  hunt. 
The  day  wears  towards  noon,  the  patient  hunter  has 
met  no  "  sign,"  when  suddenly  a  slight  noise  Is  heard— 
not  unlike,  to  unpractised  ears,  a  thousand  other  wood- 
land sounds;  the  hunter  listens;  again  the  sound  is 
heard,  as  if  a  pebble  dropped  into  the  bosom  of  a  little 
lake.     It  may  be   that  woodpecker,  who,  desisting  from 


20  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

his  labors,  has  opened  his  bill  to  yawn — or,  perchance, 
yonder  little  bird  so  industriously  scratching  among  the 
dead  leaves  of  that  young  holly.  Again,  precisely  the 
same  sound  is  heard ;  yonder,  high  in  the  heavens,  is  a 
solitary  hawk,  winging  its  way  over  the  forests,  its  rude 
scream  etherealized,  might  come  down  to  our  ears,  in 
just  such  a  sound  as  made  the  turkey-hunter  listen; 
— again  the  same  note — now  more  distinct.  The  quick 
ear  of  the  hunter  is  satisfied ;  stealthily  he  intrenches 
himself  behind  a  fallen  tree,  a  few  green  twigs  are 
placed  before  him,  from  among  which  protrudes  the 
muzzle  of  his  deadly  weapon. 

Thus  prepared,  he  takes  his  "  call,"  and  gives  one 
solitary  "  duck'''' — so  exquisitely — that  it  chimes  in  with 
the  running  brook  and  the  rustling  leaf. 

It  may  be,  that  a  half  a  mile  off,  if  the  place  be  fa- 
vorable for  conveying  sound,  is  feeding  a  "gobbler;" 
prompted  by  his  nature,  as  he  quickly  scratches  up  the 
herbage  that  conceals  his  food,  he  gives  utterance  to  the 
sounds  that  first  attracted  the  hunter's  attention. 

Poor  bird  !  he  is  bent  on  filling  his  crop ;  his  feel- 
ings are  listless,  common-place ;  his  wings  are  awry ; 
the  plumage  on  his  breast  seems  soiled  with  rain ;  his 
wattles  are  contracted  and  pale, — look !  he  starts — 
every  feather  is  instantly  in  its  place,  he  raises  his  de- 
licate game-looking  head  full  four  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  listens ;  what  an  eye  !  what  a  stride  is  suggested  by 
that  lifted  foot !  gradually  the  head  sinks ;  again  the 


WILD    TURKEY    HUNTING.  21 

bright  plumap;e  grows  dim,  aii<l  with  a  low  cluck,  he  re- 
sumes his  search  for  food. 

The  treasures  of  the  American  forest  are  before 
him  ;  the  choice  pecan-nut  is  neglected  for  that  immense 
"grub  worm"  that  rolls  down  the  decayed  stump, 
too  large  to  crawl ;  now  that  grasshopper  is.  nabbed  ; 
presently  a  hill  of  ants  presents  itself,  and  the  bird 
leans  over  it,  and,  with  wondering  curiosity,  peering 
down  the  tiny  hole  of  its  entrance,  out  of  which  are  is- 
suing the  industrious  insects. 

Again  that  clack  greets  his  ear,  up  rises  the  head 
with  lightning  swiftness,  the  bird  starts  forward  a  pace 
or  two,  looks  around  in  wonder,  and  answers  back. 

No  sound  is  heard  but  the  falling  acorn;  and  it 
fairly  echoes,  as  it  rattles  from  limb  to  limb,  and  dashes 
oflf  to  the  ground. 

The  bird  is  uneasy — he  picks  pettishly,  smooths 
down  his  feathers,  elevates  his  head  slowly,  and  then 
brings  it  to  the  earth ;  raises  his  wings  as  if  for  flight, 
jumps  upon  the  limb  of  a  fallen  tree,  looks  about-,  set- 
tles down  finally  into  a  brown  study,  and  evidently  com- 
mences thinking. 

An  hour  may  have  elapsed— he  has  resolved  the  matter 
over ;  his  imagination  has  become  inflamed ;  he  has 
heard  just  enough  to  wish  to  hear  more;  he  is  satis- 
fied, that  no  turkey-hunter  uttered  the  sounds  that 
reached  his  ear,  for  they  were  too  few  and  far  bclwer.n  ; 
and  then  there  rises  up  in  his  mind  some  disconsolate 


22  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

mistress,  and  he  gallantly  flies  down  from  his  low  perch, 
gives  his  body  a  swaggering  motion,  and  utters  a  dis- 
tinct and  prolonged  duck — significant  of  both  surprise 
and  joy. 

On  the  instant,  the  dead  twigs  near  by  crack  beneath 
a  heavy  tread,  and  he  starts  off  under  the  impression 
that  he  is  caught ;  but  the  meanderings  of  some  rumi- 
nating cow  inform  him  of  his  mistake.  Composing 
himself,  he  listens — ten  minutes  since  he  challenged, 
when  a  low  cluck  in  the  distance  reaches  his  ears. 

Now,  our  gobbler  is  an  old  bird,  and  has  several  times, 
as  if  by  a  miracle,  escaped  from  harm  with  his  life  ;  he 
has  grown  very  cunning  indeed. 

He  will  not  roost  two  successive  nights  upon  the 
same  tree,  so  that  daylight  never  exposes  him  to  the 
hunter,  who  has  hidden  himself  away  in  the  night  to 
kill  him  in  the  morning's  dawn. 

He  never  gobbles  without  running  a  short  distance 
at  least,  as  if  alarmed  at  the  noise  he  makes  himself — he 
presumes  every  thing  is  suspicious  and  dangerous,  and 
his  experience  has  heightened  the  instinct. 

Twice,  when  young,  was  he  coaxed  within  gun-shot : 
but  got  clear  by  some  fault  of  the  percussion-caps — after 
that,  he  was  fooled  by  an  idle  schoolboy,  who  was  a  kind 
of  ventriloquist,  and  would  have  been  slain,  had  not  the 
urchin  overloaded  his  gun. 

Three  times  did  he  come  near  being  killed  by  heed- 
lessly wandering  with  his  thoughtless  playfellows. 


WILD    TTRKEV    HrNTIN*;.  23 

Once  lie  was  caught  in  a  '"{'rii.*'  and  got  out  by  an 
overlooked  hole  in  its  top. 

Three  feathers  of  last  year's  "fan,"  decayed  under 
the  weight  of  a  spring-trap. 

All  this  experience  has  made  him  a  "deep"  bird ; 
and  he  will  sit  and  plume  himself,  when  common  hunters 
are  tooting  away,  but  never  so  wisely  as  to  deceive  him 
twice.  They  all  reveal  themselves  by  overstepping  the 
modesty  of  nature,  and  woo  him  too  much ;  his  loves 
arc  far  more  coy,  far  less  intrusive. 

Poor  bird  !  he  docs  not  know  that  W is  spread- 
ing his  snare  for  him,  and  is  even  then  so  sure  of  his 
victim,  as  to  be  revolving  in  his  mind  whether  his  goodly 
carcass  should  be  a  present  to  a  newly-married  friend, 
or  be  served  up  in  savory  fumes,  from  his  own  bachelor 
but  hospitable  board. 

The  last  cluck  heard  by  the  gobbler,  fairly  roused 
him,  and  he  presses  forward ;  at  one  time  he  runs  with 
speed;  then  stops  as  if  not  yet  quite  satisfied;  some- 
thing turns  him  back;  still  he  lingers  only  for  a  mo- 
ment in  his  course,  until  coming  to  a  running  stream, 
where  he  will  have  to  fly;  the  exertion  seems  too  much 
for  him. 

Stately  parading  in  the  full  sunshine,  he  walks  along 
the  margin  of  the  clear  water,  admiring  his  fine  per- 
son as  it  is  reflected  in  the  sylvan  mirror,  and  then,  like 
some  vain  lover,  tosses  his  head,  as  if  to  say,  "  let  them 
come  to  me  : "  the  listless  gait  is  resumed,  expressive 
that  the  chase  is  given  up. 


24  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

Gaining  the  ascent  of  a  low  bank,  that  lines  the 
stream  he  has  just  deserted,  he  stops  at  the  foot  of  a 
young  beech  ;  in  the  green  moss  that  fills  the  interstices 
of  the  otherwise  smooth  bark  is  hidden  away  a  cricket ; 
the  turkey  picks  at  it,  without  catching  it ;  something 
annoys  him. 

Like  the  slipper  of  Cinderella  to  the  imagination  of 
the  young  prince,  or  the  glimpses  of  a  waving  ringlet  or 
jewelled  hand,  to  the  glowing  passions  of  a  young  heart, 
is  the  remembrance  of  that  sound,  that  now  full  two 
hours  since  was  first  heard  by  our  hero — and  has  been, 
in  that  long  time,  but  tivice  repeated.  He  speculates 
that  in  the  shady  woods  that  surround  him,  there  must 
wander  a  mate ;  solitarily  she  plucks  her  food,  and  calls 
for  me — the  monster  man,  impatient  of  his  prey,  doles 
not  out  his  music  so  softly  or  so  daintily — I  am  not 
deceived,  and,  by  my  ungallant  fears,  she  will  be  won 
by  another. 

Cluck. — 

How  well-timed  the  call.  The  gobbler  now  entirely 
off  his  guard,  contracts  himself,  opens  wide  his  mouth, 
and  rolls  forth,  fearlessly,  a  volume  of  sound  for  his 
answer. 

The  stream  is  crossed  in  a  flutter,  the  toes  scarce 
indent  themselves  in  the  soft  ground  over  which  they 
pass.  On,  on  he  plunges,  until  caution  again  brings 
him  to  a  halt.  "We  could  almost  wish  that  so  fine  a  bird 
might  escape — that  there  might  be  given  one  "call  "  too 


WILD    TllIKKV    HUNTING.  25 

much — one,  that  grated  unnaturally  on  the  poor  bird's 
cur — but  not  so, — thej  lead  him  to  his  doom,  tilling  his 
heart  with  hope  and  love. 

To  the  bird  there  is  one  strange  incongruity  in  the 
"  call '" — never  before  has  he  gone  so  far  with  so  little 
success ;  but  the  note  is  perfect,  the  time  most  nicely 
given. 

Again  he  rolls  forth  a  loud  response,  and  listens — 
yet  no  answer :  his  progress  is  still  slow. 

The  cluck  again  greets  his  ear ;  there  was  a  slight 
quaver  attached  to  it  this  time,  like  the  forming  of  a 
second  note ;  he  is  nearing  his  object  of  pursuit,  and 
with  an  energetic  "call ; ''  he  rushes  forward,  his  long 
neck  stretched  out,  and  his  head  moving  inquiringly  from 
side  to  side. 

No  longer  going  round  the  various  obstacles  he 
meets  with  in  his  path,  but  impatiently  flying  over  them, 
he  comes  to  an  open  space,  and  stops. 

Some  six  hundred  yards  fivtm  where  he  stands  may 
be  seen  a  fallen  tree ;  you  can  observe  some  green 
brush,  that  looks  as  if  it  grew  out  of  the  very  decayed 
wood  ;  in  this  "  brush  "  is  hidden  away  the  deadly  fowl- 
ing piece,  and  its  muzzle  is  protruding  towards  the  open 
ground.  Behind  it  is  the  hunter,  flat  upon  the  ground, 
yet  so  placed  that  the  weapon  is  at  his  shoulder.*  Ho 
seems  to  be  as  dead  as  the  tree  in  front  of  him.  Could 
you  watch  him  closely,  you  would  perceive  that  he 
scarcely  winks  for  fear  of  alarmiiiir  his  game. 


26  THE    HIVE    OF     iliE    BEE-IIUNTEK. 

The  turkey,  still  in  his  exposed  situatioD,  gobbles  : — 
ou  the  instant  the  hunter  raises  his  "  call"-  to  his  lips, 
and  gives  a  prolonged  duck — loud  and  shrill ;  the  first 
that  could  really  be  r-onstrued  Ly  the  turkey  into  a  direct 
answer. 

The  noble  bird,  now  certain  of  success,  fairly  dances 
■with  delight ;  he  starts  forward,  his  feathers  and  neck 
amorously  playing  as  he  advances ;  now  he  commences 
his  "  strut" — his  slender  body  swells,  the  beautiful  plu- 
mage of  his  breast  unfolds  itself — his  neck  curves,  draw- 
ing the  neck  downward — the  wattles  grow  scarlet,  while 
the  skin  that  covers  the  head  changes  like  rainbow 
tints.  The  long  feathers  of  the  wings  brush  the  ground, 
the  tail  rises  and  opens  into  a  semicircle,  the  gorgeously 
colored  head  becomes  beautifully  relieved  in  its  centre. 

On  he  comes,  with  a  hitching  gait,  glowing  in  the 
sunshine  with  purple  and  gold. 

The  siren  cluck  is  twice  repeated ;  he  contracts  his 
form  to  the  smallest  dimensions ;  upwards  rises  the 
head  to  the  highest  point ;  he  stands  upon  his  very  toes, 
and  looks  suspiciously  around ;  fifty  yards  of  distance 
protects  him  from  the  bolt  of  death :  he  even  condes- 
cends to  pick  about. 

What  a  trial  for  the  expectant  hunter  !  how  vividly 
does  he  recollect  that  one  breath  too  much  has  spoiled 
a  morning's  work ! 

The  minutes  wear  on,  and  the  bird  again  becomes 
the  nailer  ;   he  gobbles,  opens  his  form,  and,  when  fully 


u  ii.D  hkkkv  hunting.  '27 

bloomed  out,  the  enchautiug  cluck  greets  his  ear  ;  on,  on 
he  comes — like  the  gay  horse  towards  the  inspiring  music 
of  the  drum,  or  like  a  bark  beating  against  the  wind, 
gallantly  but  slowly. 

The  dark  cold  barrel  of  the  ^m\\  is  now  not  more 
silent  than  is  the  hunter  ;  the  game  is  playing  just  out- 
side the  very  edge  of  its  deadly  reach ;  the  least  mis- 
take, and  it  is  gone. 

One  gentle  zephyr,  one  falling  twig,  might  break  the 
charm,  and  make  nature  revolt  at  the  coyness  apparent 
in  the  mistress,  and  then  the  lover  would  wing  his  way 
full  of  life  to  the  woods. 

But  on  he  comes — so  still  is  every  thing  that  you 
hear  his  wings  distinctly  as  they  brush  the  ground, 
while  the  sun  plays  in  conflicting  rays  and  colored  lights 
about  his  gaudily  bronzed  plumage. 

Suddenly,  the  woods  ring  in  echoing  circles  back 
upon  you  ;  a  sharp  report  is  heard. 

Out  starts,  alarmed  by  the  noise,  a  blue  jay,  which 
squalls  as  he  passes  in  waving  lines  before  you,  so  rudely 
wakened  was  he  from  sleep. 

But  our  rare  and  beautiful  bird, — our  gallant  and 
noble  bird, — our  cunning  and  game  bird,  where  is  he  ? 

The  glittering  plumage — the  gay  step — the  bright  eye 
— all — all  are  gone  : — 

Without  a  movement  of  the  muscles,  our  valorous 
lover  has  fallen  lifeless  to  the  earth. 


SUMMER  RETREAT  IN  ARKANSAS. 

It  is  not  expected  that  a  faithful  description  of  Satan's 
Summer  Retreat  in  Arkansas,  will  turn  aside  the  fashion 
of  two  worlds,  from  Brighton  and  Bath,  or  from  New- 
port and  Saratoga,  although  the  residents  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  that  delightful  place,  profess  to  have  ocular 
demonstration,  as  well  as  popular  opinion,  that  his 
Satanic  Majesty  in  warm  weather  regularly  retires  to 
the  "  Retreat,"  and  "  there  reclines  "  in  the  ''  cool." 

The  solemn  grandeur  that  surrounds  this  distin- 
guished resort,  is  worthy  of  the  hero  as  represented  by 
Milton;  its  characteristics  are  darkness,  gloom  and 
mystery ;  it  is  environed  by  the  unrivalled  vegetation 
and  forest  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  View  it  when  you 
will,  whether  decked  out  in  all  the  luxuriance  of  a 
southern  summer,  or  stripped  of  its  foliage  by  the  win- 
ter's blasts — it  matters  not — its  grandeur  is  ilways 
sombre. 


SUMMER  RETREAT  IN  ARKANSAS.  29 

The  hu;,'c  trees  seem  immortal,  their  roots  look  as 
if  they  struck  to  the  centre  of  the  earth,  while  the 
gnarled  limbs  reach  out  to  the  clouds  Here  and  there 
may  be  seen  one  of  these  lordly  specimens  of  vegetation, 
furrowed  by  the  lightning ;  from  its  top  to  the  base  you 
can  trace  the  subtle  fluid  in  its  descent,  and  see  where 
it  shattered  oflf  the  gigantic  limb,  or  turned  aside  from 
slight  inequality  in  the  bark. 

These  stricken  trees,  no  longer  able  to  repel  the  nu- 
merous parasites  that  surround  them,  soon  become  fes- 
tooned with  wreathes  and  flowers ;  while  the  damp  air 
engenders  on  living  tree  and  dead,  like  funereal  drapery, 
the  pendant  moss,  which  waves  in  every  breeze  and  seems 
to  cover  the  whole  scene  with  the  gloom  of  the  grave. 

Rising  out  of  this  forest,  for  ten  square  miles,  is  the 
dense  cane-brake,  that  bears  the  name  of  "  Satan's  Sum- 
mer Retreat;"  it  is  formed  by  a  space  of  ground  where, 
seemingly,  from  its  superiority  of  soil,  more  delicate 
vegetation  than  that  which  surrounds  it,  has  usurped 
the  empire.  Here  the  reed,  whith  the  disciple  of  Izaak 
Walton  plays  over  the  northern  streams  like  a  wand, 
grows  into  a  delicate  mast — springing  with  the  prodi- 
gality of  grass  from  the  rich  alluvium  that  gives  it  sus- 
tenance, and  tapering  from  its  roots  to  the  height  of 
twenty  or  thirty  feet,  it  there  mingles  in  compact  and 
luxuriant  confusion  its  long  leaves. 

A  portion  of  this  brake  is  interwoven  with  vines  of 
all  descriptions,  which  -makes  it  so  thick  that  it  is  al- 


30  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

most  as  impenetrable  as  a  moimtam.  Here,  in  this  soli- 
tude, where  the  noon-day  sun  never  penetrates,  myriads 
of  birds,  with  the  instinct  of  safety,  roost  at  night; 
and  at  the  dawn  of  day  for  awhile  darken  the  air  as 
they  seek  their  haunts — their  manure  deadening  like  a 
a  fire,  for  acres  around,  the  vegetation,  so  long  have  they 
possessed  the  solitude. 

Amid  this  mass  of  cane  and  vine,  the  black  bear 
retire  for  winter  quarters,  where  they  pass  the  season, 
if  not  disturbed,  in  the  insensibility  of  sleep,  and  yet 
come  out  in  the  spring  as  fat  as  when  they  commenced 
their  long  nap. 

The  forest,  the  waste,  and  the  dangers  of  the  cane- 
brake,  but  add  to  the  excitement  of  the  Arkansas  hunter  ] 
he  conquers  them  all,  and  makes  them  subservient  to 
his  pursuits.  Familiar  with  these  scenes,  they  to  him 
possess  no  sentiment ;  he  builds  his  log  cabin  in  a  clear- 
ing made  by  his  own  hands,  amid  the  surrounding  gran- 
deur, and  it  looks  like  a  gypsy  hut  among  the  ruins  of 
a  Gothic  cathedral.  The  noblest  trees  to  him  are  only 
valuable  for  fence-rails ;  and  the  cane-brake  is  "  an  in- 
fernal dark  hole,"  where  you  can  "  see  sights,"  "  catch 
bear,"  and  get  a  "  fish  pole,"  ranging  in  size  from  a 
"penny  whistle  to  that  of  a  young  stove  pipe." 

The  undoubted  hero  of  Satan's  Summer  Retreat,  is 
old  Bob  Herring :  he  has  a  character  that  would  puzzle 
three  hundred  metaphysicians  consecutively.  For,  while 
he  is  as  bold  as  a  lion,  he  is  superstitious  as  an  Indian. 


SUMMER     RETREAT    KN    ARKANSAS.  31 

The  exact  place  of  liis  birth  !;«•  cannot  tell,  as  he  says 
that  his  parents  "  travelled  '  as  long  as  he  can  remember 
them.  He  "  8«iuatteJ  "  on  thr  .Mississijjpi  at  its  nearest 
point  to  the  Retreat,  and  there  erecting  a  rude  camp, 
commenced  hunting  for  a  living,  having  no  probpect 
ahead  but  selling  out  his  "preemption  right  "  and  im- 
provements, and  again  squatting  somewhere  else. 

Unfortunately,  the  extent  of  Arkansas,  and  the 
swamp  that  surrounded  Bob's  location,  kept  it  out  of 
market  until,  to  use  his  own  language,  he  "  became  the 
ancientest  inhabitant  in  the  hull  of  Arkansaw."  And 
having,  in  spite  of  himself,  gradually  formed  acc^uaint- 
ances  with  the  few  residents  in  this  vicinity,  and  grown 
into  importance  from  his  knowledge  of  the  country,  and 
his  hunting  exploits,  he  has  established  himself  for  life, 
at  what  he  calls,  the  "  Wasp's  diggins  ;"  made  a  potato 
patch,  which  he  has  never  had  time  to  fence  in  ;  talked 
largely  of  a  cornfield ;  and  hung  his  cabin  round  with 
rifle  pouches,  gourds,  red  peppers,  and  flaming  advertise- 
ments with  rampant  horses  and  pedigrees  ;  these  latter 
ornaments,  he  looks  upon  as  rather  sentimental — but 
he  excui5e.<^  himself  on  the  ground  that  they  look  "  boss," 
and  he  considers  such  an  expression  as  considerably 
characteristic  of  himself. 

We  have  stated  that  Bob's  mind  would  puzzle  three 
hundred  metaphysicians  consecutively,  and  we  as  boldly 
assert  that  an  equal  number  of  physiologists  would  be 
brought  to  a  stand  by  his  personal  appearance.     The 


32  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

left  side  of  his  face  is  good  looking,  but  the  right  side 
seems  to  be  ucder  the  influence  of  au  invisible  air-pump; 
it  looks  drawn  out  of  shape  ;  his  perpendicular  height 
is  six  feet  one  inch,  but  that  gives  the  same  idea  of  his 
length  that  the  diameter  gives  of  the  circumference ; 
how  long  Bob  Herring  would  be  if  he  were  drawn 
out,  it  is  impossible  to  tell.  Bob  himself  says,  that  he 
was  made  on  too  tall  a  scale  for  this  world,  and  that  he 
was  shoved  in  like  the  joints  of  a  telescope, — poor  in 
flesh,  his  enormous  bones  and  joints  rattle  when  he 
moves,  and  they  would  no  doubt  long  since  have  fallen 
apart,  but  for  the  enormous  tendons  that  bind  them  to- 
gether as  visibly  as  a  good  sized  hawser  would. 

Such  is  Bob  Herring, — who  on  a  bear  hunt  will  do 
mjore  hard  work,  crack  more  jokes,  and  be  more  active 
than  any  man  living ;  sustaining  the  whole  with  unflinch- 
ing good  humor,  never  getting  angry  except  when  he 
breaks  his  whiskey-bottle,  or  has  a  favorite  dog  open  on 
the  wrong  trail. 

My  first  visit  to  Satan's  Summer  Retreat,  was  pro- 
pitious ;  my  companions  were  all  choice  spirits ;  the 
weather  was  fine,  and  Bob  Herring  inimitable.  The 
bustling  scene  that  prefaced  the  "striking  the  camp" 
for  night  lodgings,  was  picturesque  and  animated ;  a 
long  ride  brought  us  to  our  halting-place,  and  there  was 
great  relief  in  again  stepping  on  the  ground. 

*    Having  hoppled  our  horses,  we  next  proceeded  to 
build  a  fire,  wKich  was  facilitated  by  taking  advantage 


Bob  Heiring's  Cainp-tire. 


SUMMER     RETREAT    IN    ARKANSAS.  33 

of  a  dead  tree  for  a  back-log;  our  saddles,  guns,  and 
other  necessaries  were  brought  within  the  circle  of  its 
light,  and  lolling  upon  the  ground  wc  partook  of  a  fru- 
gal supper,  the  better  to  be  prepared  for  our  morrow's 
exertions  and  our  anticipated  breakfast. 

Beds  were  next  made  up,  and  few  can  be  better  than 
a  good  supply  of  cane  tops,  covered  with  a  blanket,  with 
a  saddle  for  a  pillow  ;  upon  such  a  rude  couch,  the 
hunter  sleeps  more  soundly  than  the  eflfeminate  citizen 
on  his  down.  The  crescent  moon  with  her  attendant 
stars,  studded  the  canopy  under  which  we  slept,  and  the 
blazing  fire  completely  destroyed  the  chilliness  of  a 
southern  December  night. 

The  old  adage  of  ^'  early  to  bed  and  early  to  rise  " 
was  intended  to  be  acted  upon,  that  we  might  salute  the 
tardy  sun  with  the  heat  of  our  sport ;  and  probably  we 
would  have  carried  out  our  intentions,  had  not  Bob 
Herring  very  coolly  asked  if  any  of  us  snored  "  unkim- 
monly  loud,"  for  he  said  his  old  shooting  iron  would  go 
off  at  a  good  imitation  of  a  bear's  breathing.  This 
sally  from  Bob  brought  us  all  upright,  and  then  there 
commenced  a  series  of  jibes,  jokes,  and  stories,  that  no 
one  can  hear  or  witness  except  on  an  Arkansas  hunt 
with  "  old  coons."  Bob,  like  the  immortal  Jack,  was 
witty  himself,  and  the  cause  of  wit  in  others ;  but  he 
sustained  himself  against  all  competition,  and  gave  in 
his  notions  and  experience  with  an  unrivalled  humor 
and  simplicity. 


34  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

He  found  in  me  an  attentive  listener,  and,  therefore 
went  into  details,  until  he  talked  every  one  but  myself 
asleep. 

From  general  remarks,  he  changed  to  addressing  me 
personally,  and  as  I  had  every  thing  to  learn,  he  went 
from  the  elementary,  to  the  most  complex  experience. 

"  You  are  green  in  bar  hunting,"  said  he  to  me,  in  a 
commiserating  tone — "  green  as  a  jimson  weed — but 
don't  get  short-winded  "bout  it,  case  it's  a  thing  like 
readin-,  to  be  Tarnt : — a  man  don't  come  it  perfectly  at 
once,  like  a  dog  does ;  and  as  for  that,  they  Tarn  a  heap 
in  time  ; — thar  is  a  greater  difference  'tween  a  pup  and 
an  old  dog  on  a  bar  hunt,  than  thar  is  "tween  a  militia 
man  and  a  regler.  I  remember  when  /  coulcVnt  bar 
hunt^  though  the  thing  seems  onpossible  now  ;  it  only 
takes  time — a  true  eye  and  a  steady  hand,  though  I  did 
know  a  fellow  that  called  himself  a  doctor,  who  said  you 
could'nt  do  it,  if  you  was  narvious. 

"  I  asked  him  if  he  meant  by  that,  agee  and 
fever  ! 

"  He  said,  it  was  the  agee  without  the  fever. 

"  Thar  may  be  such  a  thing  as  narvious,  stranger, 
but  nothing  but  a  yarth  quake,  or  the  agee  can  shake  me  ; 
and  still  bar  hunting  aint  as  easy  as  scearing  a  wild  tur- 
key, by  a  long  shot. 

"  The  varmint  aint  a  hog,  to  run  with  a — 
w — h — e — w  ;  just  corner  one — cotch  its  cub,  or  cripple 
it,  and  if  you  don't  have  to  fight,  or  get  out  of  the  way, 


SUMMER    RETREAT    IN    ARKANSAS.  35 

then.thar  aint  no  cat-fish  in  the  Mississip.  I  larnt  that 
nih  twenty  year  ago,  and,  perhaps,  you  would  like  to 
know  about  it."  Signifying  my  assent,  Bob  Herring 
got  up  on  his  bed — for  as  it  was  upon  the  bare  ground, 
he  could  not  well  get  off  of  it, — and,  approaching  the  fire, 
he  threw  about  a  cord  of  wood  upon  it,  in  the  form  of  a 
few  huge  logs  ;  as  they  struck  the  blazing  heap,  the  sparks 
flew  upwards  in  the  clear  cold  air,  like  jets  of  stars ; 
then,  fixing  himself  most  con)fortably,  he  detailed  what 
follows  : 

"  I  had  a  knowin  old  sow  on  a  time,  that  would  have 
made  a  better  hunter  than  any  dog  ever  heer'd  on — 
she  had  such  a  nose, — talk  'bout  a  dog  following  a  cold 
trail — she'd  track  a  bar  through  running  water.  Well 
— ^you  see  afor'  I  know'd  her  vartu',  she  came  run- 
ning into  my  cabin,  bristles  up,  and  fell  on  the  floor, 
from  what  I  now  believe,  to  have  been  a  regular  scear. 
I  thought  she'd  seen  a  bar,  for  nothing  else  could  make 
her  run  ;  and,  taking  down  my  rifle,  I  went  out  sort  a 
carelessly,  with  only  two  dogs  at  my  heels.  I  hadn't 
gone  far  'fore  I  saw  a  bar,  sure  enough,  quietly  standing 
beside  a  small  branch — it  was  an  old  He,  and  no  mistake. 

''  I  crawled  up  to  him  on  my  hands  and  knees,  and 
raised  my  rifle,  but  had  I  fired,  I  must  have  hit  him  so 
far  in  front,  that  the  ball  would  have  ranged  back  and 
not  cut  his  mortals.  I  waited — and  he  turned  tail  to- 
wards me,  and  started  across  the  branch  ;  afeer'd  I'd  lose 
him,  T  blazed  away,  and  a  sort  of  cut  him  slantingdicu- 


36  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUXTER. 

larly  through  his  haras,  and  brought  him  dowu  ;  thar  he 
sot  looking  like  a  sick  nigger  with  the  dropsy,  or  a  black 
bale  of  cotton  turned  up  on  end.  It  was  not  a  judge- 
matical shot,  and  Smith  thar,"  pointing  at  one  of  the 
sleeping  hunters,  "  would  say  so." 

Hereupon  Bob  Herring,  without  any  ceremony, 
seized  a  long  stick,  and  thrust  it  into  Smith's  short  ribs, 
who  thus  suddenly  awakened  from  a  sound  sleep,  seized 
his  knife,  and,  looking  about  him,  asked  confusedly 
what  was  the  matter  ? 

"  Would  you,"  inquired  Bob,  yery  leisurely,  "  would 
you — under  any  carcumstances,  shoot  an  old  He  in  the 
hams?" 

Smith,  yery  peremptorily,  told  his  questioner  to  go 
where  the  occupier  of  the  Retreat  in  summer,  is  sup- 
posed to  reside  through  the  winter  months,  and  went  in- 
stantly to  sleep  again. 

Bob  continued — "  Stranger,  the  bar — as  I  haye  said, 
was  on  his  hams,  and  thar  he  sot — waiting  to  whip 
somebody,  and  not  knowing  where  to  begin  ;  when  the 
two  dogs  that  followed  me  came  up,  and  pitched  into 
him  like  a  caying  bank — I  know'd  the  result  afore  the 
fight  began  ;  Blucher  had  his  whole  scalp,  ears  and  all, 
hanging  oyer  his  nose  in  a  minute,  and  Tige',  was  lying 
some  distance  from  the  bar  on  his  back,  breathing  like 
a  horse  with  the  thumps ;  he  wiped  them  both  out  with 
one  stroke  of  his  left  paw,  and  thar  he  sot — knowing  as 
well  as   I  did,  that  he  was  not  obliged  to  the  dogs  for 


SUMMER    RETREAT    IN    ARKANSAS.  37 

the  hole  in  his  carcass — and  tliar  I  stood  like  a  fool — 
rifle  in  hand,  watching  him,  instead  of  giving  him  an- 
other ball.  All  of  a  sudden  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  my 
hunting  shirt,  and  the  way  that  he  walked  at  me  on  his 
two  fore  legs,  was  a  caution  to  slow  dogs. 

"  I  fired,  and  instantly  stept  round  behind  the  trunk 
of  a  large  tree ;  my  second  shot  confused  the  bar,  and 
as  he  was  hunting  about  for  me,  just  as  I  was  patch- 
ing my  ball,  he  again  saw  me,  and,  with  his  ears  nailed 

back  to  his  head,  he  gave  the  d 1  w — h — e — w  I  ever 

heard,  and  made  straight  at  me  ;  I  leapt  up  a  bank  near 
by,  and  as  I  gained  the  top,  my  foot  touched  the  eend 
of  his  nose. 

"  If  I  ever  had  the  '  narviouSj''  stranger,  that  was 
the  time,  for  the  skin  of  my  face  seemed  an  inch  thick, 
and  my  eyes  had  more  rings  in  them  than  a  wild  cat's. 

"  At  this  moment,  several  of  my  dogs,  that  war  out 
on  an  expedition  of  their  own,  came  up,  and  immediately 
made  battle  with  the  bar,  who  shook  oflf  the  dogs  in  a 
flash,  and  made  agin  at  me ;  the  thing  was  done  so 
quick,  that  as  I  raised  my  rifle,  I  stepped  back  and  fell 
over,  and,  thinking  my  time  was  come,  wished  that  I 
had  been  born  to  be  hung,  and  not  chaw'd  up  ;  but  the 
bar  didn't  cotch  me  ;  his  hind  quarters,  as  he  came  at 
me,  fell  into  a  hole  about  a  root,  and  caught :  I  was  on 
my  feet,  and  out  of  his  reach  in  a  wink,  but  as  quick  as 
I  did  this,  he  had  cut  through  a  green  root  the  size  of 
my  leg,  he  did  it  in  about  two  snaps,  but,  weakened  by 


38  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

the  exertion,  the  dogs  got  hold  of  him,  and  held  on 
while  I  blowed  his  heart  out.  Ever  since  that  time,  I 
have  been  wide  awake  with  a  wounded  bar — sartainty 
or  stand  off^  being  my  motto. 

"  I  shall  dream  of  that  bar  to-night,"  concluded 
Bob,  fixing  his  blanket  over  him  ;  and  a  few  moments 
onh'  elapsed  before  he  was  in  danger  of  his  life,  if  his 
rifle  would  go  off,  as  he  had  said,  at  a  good  imitation  of 
a  bear's  breathing. 

Fortunately  for  me,  the  sun  on  the  following  morn 
was  fairly  above  the  horizon  before  our  little  party  was 
ready  for  the  start.  "While  breakfast  was  being  pre- 
pared, the  rifles  were  minutely  examined  ;  some  were 
taken  apart,  and  every  precaution  used  to  insure  a  quick 
and  certain  fire.  A  rude  breakfast  having  been  des- 
patched, lots  were  drawn  who  should  go  into  the  drive 
with  the  dogs,  as  this  task  in  Satan's  Summer  Retreat 
is  any  thing  but  a  pleasant  one,  being  obliged  often  to 
walk  on  the  bending  cane,  which  is  so  thick  for  hun- 
dreds of  yards  that  you  cannot  touch  or  see  the  ground, 
— then  crawling  on  your  hands  and  knees  between  roots, 
you  are  sometimes  brought  to  a  complete  halt,  and 
obliged  to  cut  your  way  through  with  the  knife.  While 
this  is  going  on,  the  hunters  are  at  tlie  stands,  places 
which  their  judgments  dictate  as  most  likely  to  be 
passecl  by  the  bear  when  roused  by  the  dogs. 

Two  miles  might,  on  this  occasion,  have  been  passed 
over  by  those  in  the  drive  in  the  course  of  three  hours, 


SUMMER    RETREAT    IN    ARKANSAS.  39 

and  yet,  although  sigus  were  plenty  as  "  leaves,"  not  a 
bear  was  started.  Hard  swearing  was  heard,  and  as  the 
vines  encircled  tlic  feet,  or  caught  one  under  the  nose, 
it  was  increased. 

In  the  midst  of  this  ill  humor,  a  solitary  bark  was 
heard, — some  one  exclaimed,  that  was  Bose  ! — another 
shrill  yelp— that  sounded  like  Music's ;— breathing  was 
almost  suspended  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment, — 
presently  another  and  another  bark  was  heard  in  quick 
succession — in  a  minute  more  the  whole  pack  of  thirty- 
five  stanch  dogs  opened ! 

The  change  from  silence  to  so  much  noise,  made  it 
almost  deafening.  Nothing  but  personal  demonstration 
could  give  an  idea  of  the  effect  upon  the  mind  of  such  a 
pack  baying  a  bear  in  a  cane-brake.  Before  me  were  old 
hunters ;  they  had  been  moving  along  as  if  destitute  of 
energy  or  feeling;  but  now,  their  eyes  flashed,  their 
lips  were  compressed,  and  their  cheeks  flushed;  they 
seemed  incapable  of  fatigue.  As  for  myself,  my  feelings 
almost  overcame  me.  I  felt  a  cold  sweat  stealing  down 
my  back,  my  breath  was  thick  and  hot,  and  as  I  sus- 
pended it,  to  hear  more  distinctly  the  fight, — for  by  this 
time  the  dogs  had  evidently  come  up  with  the  bear — I 
could  hear  the  pulsation  of  my  heart. 

One  minute  more  to  listen — to  learn  in  which  direc- 
tion the  war  was  raging — and  then  our  party  unanimously 
sent  forth  a  yell  that  would  have  frightened  a  nation 
of  Indians 


40  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUXTER, 

The  bear  was  iu  bis  bed  when  the  dogs  first  came 
up  with  him,  and  did  not  leave  it  until  the  pack  sur- 
rounded him  ;  then  finding  things  rather  too  warm,  he 
broke  off  with  a  "  whew  ''  that  was  awful  to  hear. 

His  course  was  towards  us  on  the  left,  and  as  he 
went  by,  the  cane  cracked  and  smashed  as  if  rode  over 
by  an  insane  locomotive.  Bob  Herring  gave  the  dogs 
a  salute  as  they  passed  close  at  the  beast's  heels,  and 
the  noise  increased,  until  he  said,  "  it  sounded  as  if  all 
h-ll  were  pounding  bark." 

The  bear  was  commented  on  as  he  rushed  by;  one 
said  he  was  a  "  buster  ; "  "a  regular-built  eight  year 
old"  said  another;  "fat  as  a  candle,"  shouted  a  third; 
— •'  he's  the  beauty  of  Satan's  Summer  Betreat,  with  a 
band  of  music  after  him,"  sang  Bob  Herring. 

Out  of  his  lair  the  bear  plunged  so  swiftly,  that  our 
greatest  exertions  scarcely  enabled  us  to  keep  within 
hearing  distance;  his  course  carried  him  towards  those 
at  the  stands,  he  turned  and  exactly  retraced  his  course, 
but  not  with  the  same  speed ;  want  of  breath  had  several 
times  brought  him  to  a  stand,  and  a  fight  with  the  dogs. 
He  passed  us  the  second  time  within  two  hundred  yardsj 
and  coming  against  a  fallen  tree,  backed  up  against  it, 
showing  a  determination,  if  necessary,  there  to  die. 

We  made  our  way  towards  the  spot  as  fast  as  the 
obstacles  in  our  way  would  let  us ;  the  hunters  anxious 
to  dispatch  him,  that  few  dogs  as  possible  might  be 
sacrificed.     The  few  minutes   necessary  to  accomplish 


SUMMER    RETREAT    IN    ARKANSAS.  41 

this,  seemed  an  age — the  tiglit  all  the  time  souiuling 
terrible,  for  every  ^ow  and  then  the  bear  evidently  made 
a  rush  at  the  dogs  as  they  narrowed  their  circle,  or  came 
individually,  too  near  his  person. 

Crawling  through  and  over  the  cane-brake,  was  a 
new  thing  to  me,  and  in  the  prevailing  excitement  my 
feet  seemed  tied  together,  and  there  was  always  a  vine 
directly  under  my  chin  to  cripple  my  exertions.  AVhile 
thus  struggling,  I  heard  a  suspicious  cracking  in  my 
ear,  and  looking  round,  I  saw  Bob  Herring  a  foot  taller 
than  usual,  stalking  over  the  cane  like  a  colossus  ;  he 
very  much  facilitated  my  progress  by  a  shove  in  the 
rear. 

"  Come  along,  stranger,"  he  shouted,  his  voice  as 
clear  as  a  bell,  ''come  along;  the  bar  and  the  dogs  are 
going  it  like  a  high-pressure  political  meeting,  and  I 
must  be  thar  to  put  in  a  word,  sartain." 

Fortunately  for  my  wind,  I  was  nearer  the  contest 
than  I  imagined,  for  Bob  Herring  stopped  just  ahead  of 
me,  examined  his  rifle,  with  two  or  three  other  hunters 
just  arrived  from  the  stands,  and  by  peeping  through 
the  undergrowth,  we  discovered  within  thirty  yards  of 
us,  the  fierce  raging  fight. 

Nothing  distinctly,  however,  was  seen ;  a  confused 
mass  of  legs,  heads,  and  backs  of  dogs,  flying  about  as 
if  attached  to  a  ball,  was  all  we  could  make  out.  On 
still  nearer  approach,  confusiou  would  clear  ofl'  for  a 
moment,  and  the   head  of  the  bear  coidd  be  seen,  his 


42  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

tongue  covered  with  dust  and  banging  a  foot  from  his 
mouth;  his  jaws  covered  with  foam  and  blood,  and  bis 
eyes  almost  protruding  from  their  sockets,  while  his 
ears  were  so  closely  pressed  to  the  back  of  bis  bead, 
that  he  seemed  destitute  of  those  appendages  ;  the  whole, 
indicative  of  unbounded  rage  and  terror.  These 
glimpses  of  the  bear  were  only  momentary,  his  perse- 
cutors rested  but  for  a  breath,  and  then  closed  in,  re- 
gardless of  their  own  lives ;  for  you  could  discover,  min- 
gled with  the  sharp  bark  of  defiance,  the  yell  that  told 
of  death. 

It  was  only  while  the  bear  was  crushing  some  luckless 
dog,  that  they  could  cover  his  back,  and  lacerate  it  with 
their  teeth.  Bob  Herring,  and  one  of  the  hunters,  in 
spite  of  the  danger,  crept  upon  their  knees,  so  near, 
that  it  seemed  as  if  another  foot  advanced  would  bring 
them  within  the  circle  of  the  fight. 

Bob  Herring  was  first,  within  safe  shooting  distance 
to  save  the  dogs,  and,  waving  his  hand  to  those  behind 
him,  he  raised  his  rifle  and  sighted;  but  his  favorite  dog, 
impatient  for  the  report,  anticipated  it  by  jumping  on 
the  bear,  which,  throwing  up  his  head  at  the  same  in- 
stant, received  the  ball  in  his  nose;  at  the  crack  of  the 
rifle — the  well  trained  doo;s,  thiukino;  less  caution  than 
otherwise  necessary,  jumped  pell-mell  on  the  bear's 
back,  and  the  hardest  fight  ever  witnessed  in  Summer 
Retreat  ensued ;  the  hunter  with  Bob,  placed  his  gun 
almost  against  the  bear's  side,  and  the  cap  snapped — no 


SUMMER     RETllKAT    IN    ARKANSAS.  4o 

oue  else  was    near  cnouL^li    to  fir.^  \vith<.ut  liittmg  the 
dogs. 

"  Crivc  him  the  knife  !  "  cried  those  at  a  distance. 

Bob  Herring's  long  blade  was  already  flashing  in 
his  hand,  but  sticking  a  live  bear  is  not  child's  play  ;  ho 
was  standing  undecided,  when  he  saw  the  hind  legs  of 
Bose  upwards  :  thrusting  aside  one  or  two  of  the  dogs 
with  his  hand,  he  made  a  pass  at  the  bear's  throat,  but 
the  animal  was  so  quick,  that  he  struck  the  knife  with 
his  fore  paw,  and  sent  it  whirling  into  the  cane  ;  another 
was  instantly  handed  Bob,  which  he  thrust  at  the  bear, 
but  the  point  was  so  blunt,  that  it  would  not  penetrate 
the  skin. 

Foiled  a  third  time,  with  a  tremendous  oath  on  him- 
self, and  the  owner  of  a  knife,  "  that  wouldn't  stick  a 
cabbage,"  he  threw  it  indignantly  from  him,  and  seizing, 
unceremoniously,  a  rifle,  just  then  brought  up  by  one  of 
the  party,  heretofore  in  the  rear ;  he,  utterly  regardless 
of  his  own  legs,  thrust  it  against  the  side  of  the  bear 
with  considerable  force,  and  blowed  liim  through ;  the 
bear  struggled  but  for  a  moment,  and  fell  dead. 

"  I  saw  snakes  last  night  in  my  dreams,"  said  Bob, 
handing  back  the  rifle  to  its  owner — ''  and  I  never  had 
any  good  luck  the  next  day,  arter  sich  a  sarcumstance — 
I  call  this  hull  hunt  about  as  mean  an  aff'air  as  daiMj> 
powder;  that  bar  thar,"  pointing  to  the  carcass,  "  that 
bar  thar  ought  to  have  been  killed  afore  he  maimed  a 

•log."  •   . 


44  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

Then,  speaking  energetically,  he  said,  "  Boys, 
never  fire  at  a  bar's  head,  even  if  your  iron  is  in  his 
ear,  its  unsartain  ;  look  how  I  missed  the  brain,  and 
only  tore  the  smellers ;  with  fewer  dogs,  and  sich  a 
shot,  a  fellow  would  be  ripjoed  open  in  a  powder  flash ; 
and  I  say,  cuss  caps,  and  head  shooting;  they  would 
have  cost  two  lives  to-day,  but  for  them  ar  blessed 
dogs." 

With  such  remarks  Bob  Herring  beguiled  away  the 
time,  while  he,  with  others,  skinned  the  bear.  His  huge 
carcass  when  dressed,  though  not  over  fat,  looked  like  a 
huge  young  steer's.  The  dogs,  as  they  recovered  breath, 
partook  of  the  refuse  with  a  relish ;  the  nearest  possible 
route  out  of  the  Retreat  was  selected,  and  two  horse 
loads  took  the  meat  into  the  open  woods,  where  it  was 
divided  out  in  such  a  manner,  that  it  could  be  taken 
home. 

Bob  Herring,  w^hile  the  dressing  of  the  bear  was  go- 
ing on,  took  the  skin,  and,  on  its  inside  surface,  which 
glistened  like  satin,  he  carefully  deposited  the  caul  fat, 
and  beside  it  the  liver — the  choice  parts  of  the  bear,  ac- 
cording to  the  gourmand  notions  of  the  frontier,  were  in 
Bob's  possession ;  and  many  years'  experience  had  made 
him  so  expert  in  cooking  it,  that  he  was  locally  famed 
for  this  matter  above  all  competitors. 

It  would  be  as  impossible  to  give  the  recipe  for  this 
dish,  so   that  it  might  be  followed  by  the  gastronomers 


SUMMKR    RETREAT    IN    ARKANSAS.  45 

of  cities,  as  it  would  to  have  the  articles  composing  it 
exposed  for  sale  in  the  markets. 

Bob  Herring  managed  it  as  follows  :  he  took  a  long 
wooden  skewer,  and  having  thrust  its  point  through  a 
small  piece  of  the  liver  fat,  he  then  followed  it  by  a 
small  piece  of  the  liver,  then  the  fat,  then  the  liver,  and 
so,  on,  until  his  most  important  material  was  consumed ; 
when  this  was  done,  he  opened  the  "  bear's  handker- 
chief,'' or  caul,  and  wrapped  it  round  the  whole,  and 
thus  roasted  it  before  the  fire.  Like  all  the  secrets  in 
cookery,  this  dish  depends,  for  its  flavor  and  richness, 
upon  giving  exactly  the  proper  quantities,  as  a  super- 
abundance of  one,  or  the  other,  would  completely  spoil 
the  disli. 

"  I  was  always  unlucky,  boys,"  said  Bob — 
throwing  the  bear  skin  and  its  contents  over  his 
shoulders,  ''  but  I  have  had  my  fill  often  of  caul  fat  and 
liver — many  a  man  who  thi)iks  he's  hicky,  lives  and  dies 
as  ignorant  of  its  vartue,  as  a  possum  is  of  corn  cake. 
If  I  ever  look  dead,  boys,  don't  bury  me  until  you  see  I 
don't  open  my  eyes  when  the  caul  fat  and  liver  is  ready 
for  eating ;  if  I  don't  move  when  you  show  me  it,  then 
I  am  a  done  goner,  sure," 

Night  closed  in  before  we  reached  our  homes — the 
excitement  of  the  morning  wore  upon  our  spirits  and 
energy,  but  the  evening's  meal  of  caul  fat  and  liver,  and 
otlior  "  fixins."  or  B(»b  IT.Tring's  philosophical  reujarks. 


46  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

restored  me  to  perfect  health,  and  I  shall  ever  recollect 
that  suj^per,  and  its  master  of  ceremonies,  as  harmo- 
nious with,  and  as  extraordinary  as  is,  the  "  Summer 
Retreat  in  Arkansas.-' 


TOM   ()\Vi:X.   THK    r>i:K-IlITXTER. 

As  a  couutry  becouies  cleared  up  and  settled,  bee-hunt- 
ers disappear,  consequently  they  are  seldom  or  never 
noticed  beyond  the  immediate  vicinity  of  their  homes. 
Among  this  backwoods  fraternity,  have  flourished  men 
of  genius,  in  their  way,  who  have  died  unwept  and  un- 
noticed, while  the  heroes  of  the  turf,  and  of  the  chase, 
have  been  lauded  to  the  skies  for  every  trivial  superi- 
ority, they  umy  have  displayed  in  their  respective  })ur- 
suits. 

To  chronicle  the  exploits  of  sportsmen  is  commend- 
able— the  custom  began  as  early  as  the  days  of  the  ante- 
diluvians, for  we  read,  that  "  Nimrod  was  a  mighty 
hunter  before  the  Lord.''  Familiar,  however,  as  Nim- 
rod's  name  may  be — or  even  Davy  Crockett's — how  un- 
satisfactory their  records,  when  we  reflect  that  Tom 
Owen,  the  bee-hunter,  is  comparatively  unknown  ? 

YoR.  the  mitrhtv  Tom  Owoii  hns  "  luuitod.''  from  the 


48 


THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUXTER. 


time  that  he  could  stand  alone  until  the  present  time, 
and  not  a  pen  has  inked  paper  to  record  his  exploits. 
"  Solitary  and  alone''  has  he  traced  his  game  through 
the  mazy  labyrinth  of  air ;  marked,  I  hunted ; — I  found; 
— I  conquered; — upon  the  carcasses  of  his  victims,  and 
then  marched  homeward  with  his  spoils  :  quietly  and 
satisfiedly,  sweetening  his  path  through  life;  and,  by  its 
very  obscurity,  adding  the  principal  element  of  the  sub- 
lime. 

It  was  on  a  beautiful  southern  October  morning,  at 
the  hospitable  mansion  of  a  friend,  where  I  was  staying 
to  drown  dull  care,  that  I  first  had  the  pleasure  of  see- 
ing Tom  Owen. 

He  was,  on  this  occasion,  straggling  up  the  rising 
ground  that  led  to  the  hospitable  mansion  of  mine  host, 
and  the  difference  between  him  and  ordinary  men  was 
visible  at  a  glance  ;  perhaps  it  showed  itself  as  much  in 
the  perfect  contempt  of  fashion  that  he  displayed  in  the 
adornment  of  his  outward  man,  as  it  did  in  the  more  ele- 
vated qualities  of  his  mind,  which  were  visible  in  his 
face.  His  head  was  adorned  with  an  outlandish  pattern 
of  a  hat — ^his  nether  limbs  were  encased  by  a  pair  of 
inexpressibles,  beautifully  fringed  by  the  briar-bushes 
through  which  they  were  often  drawn ;  coats  and  vests, 
he  considered  as  superfluities  ;  hanging  upon  his  back 
were  a  couple  of  pails,  and  an  axe  in  his  right  hand, 
formed  the  varieties  that  represented  the  corpus  of  Tom 
Owon. 


TOM    OWEN,    THE    BEE-kUNTER.  49 

As  is  usual  with  great  men,  he  had  his  followers, 
who,  with  a  courtier-like  humility,  depended  upon  the 
expression  of  his  face  for  all  their  hopes  of  success. 

The  usual  salutations  of  meeting  were  sufficient  to 
draw  me  within  the  circle  of  his  influence,  and  I  at  once 
became  one  of  his  most  ready  followers. 

"  See  yonder  !  "  said  Tom,  stretching  his  long  arm 
into  infinite  space,  "  see  yonder — there's  a  bee." 

We  all  looked  in  the  direction  he  pointed,  but  that 
was  the  extent  of  our  observation. 

'*  It  was  a  fine  bee,"  continued  Tom,  "  black  body, 
yellow  legs,  and  went  into  that  tree," — pointing  to  a  tow- 
ering oak,  blue  in  the  distance.  "  In  a  clear  day  I  can 
see  a  bee  over  a  mile,  easy  !  " 

When  did  Coleridge  ''talk"  like  that?  And  yet 
Tom  Owen  uttered  such  a  saying  with  perfect  ease. 

After  a  variety  of  meanderings  through  the  thick 
woods,  and  clambering  over  fences,  we  came  to  our  place 
of  destination,  as  pointed  out  by  Tom,  who  selected  a 
mighty  tree  containing  sweets,  the  possession  of  which 
the  poets  have  likened  to  other  sweets  that  leave  a  sting 
behind. 

The  felling  of  a  mighty  tree  is  a  sight  that  calls  up 

a  variety  of  emotions  ;  and  Tom's  game  was   lodged   in 

one  of  the  finest  in  the  forest.     But  "  the  axe  was  laid 

at  the  root  of  the  tree,"  which,  in  Tom's  mind,  was  made 

expressly  for  bees  to  build  their  nests  in,  that  he  might 

cut  thorn  down,  and  obtain  possession  of  their  honeyed 
3 


50  THE    HIVE    OF    THE   BEE-HUNTER. 

treasure.  The  sharp  axe,  as  it  played  in  the  hands  of 
Tom,  was  replied  to  by  a  stout  negro  from  the  opposite 
side  of  the  tree,  and  their  united  strokes  fast  gained 
upon  the  heart  of  their  lordly  victim. 

There  was  little  poetry  in  the  thought,  that  long 
before  this  mighty  empire  of  States  was  formed,  Tom 
Owen's  ''  bee-hive"  had  stretched  its  brawny  arms  to  the 
winter's  blast,  and  grown  green  in  the  summer's  sun. 

Yet  such  was  the  case,  and  how  long  I  might  have 
moralized  I  know  not,  had  not  the  enraged  buzzing 
about  my  ears  satisfied  me  that  the  occupants  of  the  tree 
were  not  going  to  give  up  their  home  and  treasure,  with- 
out showing  considerable  practical  fight.  No  sooner  had 
the  little  insects  satisfied  themselves  that  they  were 
about  to  be  invaded,  than  they  began,  one  after  another, 
to  descend  from  their  airy  abode,  and  fiercely  pitch  into 
our  faces  ;  anon  a  small  company,  headed  by  an  old  vet- 
eran, would  charge  with  its  entire  force  upon  all  parts 
of  our  body  at  once. 

It  need  not  be  said  that  the  better  part  of  valor  was 
displayed  by  a  precipitate  retreat  from  such  attacks. 

In  the  midst  of  this  warfare,  the  tree  began  to  trem- 
ble with  the  fast-repeated  strokes  of  the  axe,  and  then 
might  have  been  seen  a  "bee-line  "  of  stingers  precipi- 
tating themselves  from  above,  on  the  unfortunate  hunter 
beneath. 

Now  it  was  that  Tom  shone  fortli  in  his  glory,  for 
his  partisans — like  many  hangers-on   about  great  men, 


TOM    oWr.N.    TIIK    HEIMIU.NTER.  »! 

began  to  desert  him  on  the  first  symptoms  of  danger  ; 
and  when  the  trouble  thickened,  they,  one  and  all,  took 
to  their  heels,  and  left  only  our  hero  and  Sambo  to 
fight  the  adversaries.  Sambo,  however,  soon  dropped 
his  axe,  and  fell  into  all  kinds  of  contortions ;  first  he 
would  seize  the  back  of  his  neck  with  his  hands,  then  his 
legs,  and  yell  with  pain.  "  Never  holler  till  you  get 
out  of  the  woods,"  said  the  sublime  Tom,  consolingly ; 
but  writhe  the  negro  did,  until  he  broke,  and  left  Tom 
"  alone  in  his  glory." 

Cut, — thwack  !  sounded  through  the  confused  hum 
at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  marvellously  reminding  me  of  the 
interruptions  that  occasionally  broke  in  upon  the  other- 
wise monotonous  hours  of  my  schoolboy  usy-. 

A  sharp  cracking  finally  told  me  the  chopping  was 
done,  and,  looking  aloft,  I  saw  the  mighty  tree  balan- 
cing in  the  air.  Slowly,  and  majestically,  it  bowed  for 
the  first  time  towards  its  mother  earth, — gaining  velo- 
city as  it  descended,  it  shivered  the  trees  that  interrupt- 
ed its  downward  course,  and  falling  with  thundering 
sound,  splintered  its  mighty  limbs,  and  buried  them 
deeply  in  the  ground. 

The  sun,  for  the  first  time  in  at  least  two  centuries, 
broke  uninterruptedly  through  the  chasm  made  in  the 
forest,  and  shone  with  splendor  upon  the  magnificent 
Tom,  standing  a  conqueror  among  his  spoils. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  bees  were  very  much 
astonished  and  confused,  and  by  their  united  voices  pro- 


U^^.LKSITY  OP 
liUNOIS  LIBRARY 


52  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

claimed  death,  had  it  been  in  their  power,  to  all  their 
foes,  not,  of  course,  excepting  Tom  Owen  himself  But- 
the  wary  hunter  was  up  to  the  tricks  of  his  trade,  and, 
like  a  politician,  he  knew  how  easily  an  enraged  mob 
could  be  quelled  with  smoke ;  and  smoke  he  tried,  until 
his  enemies  were  completely  destroyed. 

We,  Tom's  hangers-on,  now  approached  his  treasure. 
It  was  a  rich  one,  and,  as  he  observed,  "  contained  a 
rich  chance  of  i^lunder.''  Nine  feet,  by  measurement, 
of  the  hollow  of  the  tree  was  full,  and  this  afforded 
many  pails  of  pure  honey. 

Tom  was  liberal,  and  supplied  us  all  with  more  than 
we  wanted,  and  "toted,"  by  the  assistance  of  Sambo, 
his  share  to  his  own  home,  soon  to  be  devoured,  and 
soon  to  be  replaced  by  the  destruction  of  another  tree, 
and  another  nation  of  bees. 

Thus  Tom  exhibited  within  himself  an  unconquer- 
able genius  which  would  have  immortalized  him,  had  he 
directed  it  in  following  the  sports  of  Long  Island  or 
^'ew  Market. 

We  have  seen  the  great  men  of  the  southern  turf 
glorying  around  the  victories  of  their  favorite  sport, — 
we  have  heard  the  great  western  hunters  detail  the  soul- 
stirring  adventures  of  a  bear-hunt — we  have  listened, 
with  almost  suffocating  interest,  to  the  tale  of  a  Nan- 
tucket seaman,  while  he  portrayed  the  death  of  a  mighty 
whale — and  we  have  also  seen  Tom  Owen  triumphantly 
engaged  in  a  bee-hunt — we  beheld  and  wondered  at  the 


SUMMER    RETREAT    IN    ARKANSAS.  53 

sports  of  tlic  turf — the  field — and  the  sea — because  the 
objects  acted  on  by  man  were  terrible,  indeed,  when 
their  instincts  were  aroused. 

But,  in  the  bee-hunt  of  Tom  Owen,  and  its  consum- 
mation,— the  grandeur  visible  was  imparted  by  the 
mighty  mind  of  Tom  Owen  himself. 


AREOW-FISHING. 

In  treating  of  tlie  most  beautiful  and  novel  sport  of 
arrow-fishing,  its  incidents  are  so  interwoven  with  ten 
thousand  accessories,  that  we  scarce  know  how  to  sepa- 
rate our  web,  without  either  breaking  it,  or  destroying  a 
world  of  interest  liidden  among  the  wilds  of  the  Amer- 
ican forest. 

The  lakes  over  which  the  arrow-fisher  twangs  his 
bow,  in  the  pleasant  spring-time ;  have  disappeared  long 
before  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf  of  autumn  appears,  and 
the  huntsman's  horn,  and  the  loud-mouthed  pack,  clamor 
melodiously  after  the  scared  deer  upon  their  bottoms. 

To  explain  this  phenomenon,  the  lover  of  natui-e 
must  follow  us  until  we  exhibit  some  of  the  vagaries  of 
the  great  Mississippi,  and,  having  fairly  got  our  "flood 
and  field "  before  us,  we  will  engage  heartily  in  the 
sport. 


ARROW-lIsHlNG.  55 

If  you  will  descend  with  r.ic  from  slightly  broken 
ground  through  which  we  have  been  riding,  covered 
with  forest  trees  singularly  choked  up  with  undergrowth, 
to  an  expanse  of  country  beautifully  open  between  the 
trees,  the  limbs  of  which  start  out  from  the  trunk  some 
thirty  feet  above  the  ground,  you  will  find  at  your  feet 
an  herbage  that  is  luxuriant,  but  scanty  ;  high  over  your 
head,  upon  the  trees,  you  will  perceive  a  htie,  marking 
what  has  evidently  been  an  overflow  of  water ;  you  can 
trace  the  beautiful  level  upon  the  trunks  of  the  trees,  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach. 

It  is  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  a  squirrel  drops  an 
acorn  upon  your  shoulder,  and  about  your  feet  are  the 
sharp-cut  tracks  of  the  nimble  deer.  You  are  standing 
in  the  centre  of  what  is  called,  by  hunters,  a  "  dry 
lake." 

As  the  warm  air  of  April  favors  the  opening  flowers 
of  spring,  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  increased  by 
the  melting  snows  of  the  North,  swell  within  its  low 
banks,  and  rush  in  a  thousand  streams  back  into  the 
swamps  and  lowlands  that  lie  upon  its  borders ;  the  tor- 
rent sweeps  along  into  the  very  reservoir  in  which  we 
stand,  and  the  waters  swell  upwards  until  they  find  a 
level  with  the  fountain  itself.  Thus  is  formed  the  ar- 
row-fisher's lake. 

The  brawny  oak,  the  graceful  pecan,  the  tall  poplar, 
and  delicate  beech  spring  from  its  surface  in  a  thousand 
tangled  limbs,  looking  more  beautiful,  yet  most  unnat- 


56  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

ural,  as  the  water  reflects  them  downwards,  hiding  com- 
pletely away  their  submerged  trunks.  The  arrow-fisher 
now  peeps  in  the  nest  of  tlie  wild  bird  from  his  little 
boat,  and  runs  its  prow  plump  into  the  hollow,  that 
marks  the  doorway  of  some  cunning  squirrel. 

In  fact,  he  navigates  for  awhile  his  bark  where,  in 
the  fall  of  the  year,  the  gay-plumed  songster  and  the 
hungry  hawk  plunge  mid-air,  and  float  not  more  swiftly 
nor  gayly,  on  light  pinioned  wings,  than  he  in  his  swift 
canoe. 

A  chapter  from  nature  :  and  who  unfolds  the  great 
book  so  understandingly,  and  learns  so  truly  from  its 
wisdom,  as  the  piscator  ? 


fm 


vx 


iiilp'"' 


\ 


a,  The  level  of  the  Mississippi,  at  its  ordinary  stage  of  water. 
h.  The  height  of  the  spring  rise,  c,  d,  The  "dry  lakes."  By  ex- 
amination of  the  above  drawing,  au  idea  may  be  formed  of  the 
manner  of  the  rises  of  the  Mississippi.  The  observer  will  notice 
that  when  the  water  is  at  a,  the  lakes  c  nnd  d  will  be  dry,  afford- 
ing a  fine  hunting-ground  for  deer,  <tc.  When  the  water  is  at 
h,  the  lakes  are  formed,  and  arrow-fishing  is  pursued.  (See  de- 
scription.) A  correct  idea  may  also  be  formed  by  what  is  meant 
by  a  ivater-Une  on  the  trees,  indicating  the  last  rise;  the  water- 
line  will  be  formed  of  the  sediment  settling  on  the  trees  at  the 
line  b,  marked  above. 


ARROW-FISHING.  57 

The  rippling  brook,  as  it  dauces  along  in  the  sun- 
shine, bears  with  it  the  knowledge,  there  is  truthfulness 
in  water,  though  it  be  not  in  a  well.  We  can  find 
something,  if  we  will,  to  love  and  admire  under  every 
wave  ;  and  the  noises  of  every  tiny  brook  are  tongues 
that  speak  eloquently  to  nature's  true  priests. 

We  have  marked,  that  with  the  rise  of  the  waters, 
the  fish  grow  gregarious,  and  that  they  rush  along  in 
schools  icith  the  waters  that  flow  itilayid  from  the  river, 
— they  thus  choose  these  temporary  sylvan  lakes  as 
depositories  of  their  spawn ;  thus  wittingly  providing 
against  that  destruction  that  would  await  their  young, 
in  the  highways  of  their  journeyings. 

It  is  a  sight  to  wonder  at,  in  the  wilds  of  the  primi- 
tive forest,  to  see  the  fish  rushing  along  the  narrow  in- 
lets, with  the  current,  in  numbers  incredible  to  the  im- 
agination, leaping  over  the  fallen  tree  that  is  only  half 
buried  in  the  surface  of  the  stream,  or  stayed  a  moment 
in  their  course  by  the  meshes  of  the  strong  net,  either 
bursting  it  by  force  of  numbers,  or  granting  its  wasteful 
demands  by  thousands,  without  seemingly  to  diminish 
the  multitude,  more  than  a  single  leaf  taken  from  the 
forest  would  perceptibly  alter  the  vegetation. 

We  have  marked,  too,  that  these  fish  would  bcsport 
themselves  in  their  new  homes,  secluding  themselves  in 
the  shadows  of  the  trees  and  banks ;  and,  as  the  sum- 
mer heats  come  on,  they  would  grow  untjuiet ;  the  out- 
lets leading  to  tlio  uroat  river  thev  had  left  would  be 
3* 


58  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

thronged  by  what  seemed  to  be  busy  couriers;  and 
when  the  news  finally  spread  oi falling  ivater^  one  night 
would  suffice  to  make  the  lake,  before  so  thronged  with 
finny  life,  deserted;  and  a  few  nights  only,  perhaps,  would 
pass,  when  the  narrow  bar  would  intrude  itself  between 
the  inland  lake  and  the  river,  that  supplied  it  with 
water. 

Such  was  the  fish's  wisdom,  seen  and  felt,  where 
man,  with  his  learning  and  his  nicely-wrought  mechan- 
isms, would  watch  in  vain  the  air,  the  clouds,  and  see 
"  no  signs  "  of  falling  water.* 

Among  arrow-fishermen  there  are  technicalities,  an 
understanding  of  which  will  give  a  more  ready  idea  of 
the  sport.  The  surfaces  of  these  inland  lakes  are  un- 
ruffled by  the  winds  or  storms ;  the  heats  of  the  sun 
seem  to  rest  upon  them ;  they  are  constantly  sending 
into   the  upper   regions,  warm  mists.     Their   surfaces, 

*  It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  naturalists  to  be  informed, 
that  these  fish  run  into  the  inland  lakes  to  spawn,  and  they  do 
it  of  course  with  the  rise  of  the  water.  These  overflows  are 
annual.  A  few  years  since  the  season  was  very  singular,  and 
there  were  three  distinct  rises  and  falls  of  water,  and  at  each 
rise  the  fish  followed  the  water  inland,  and  spawned:  a  remark- 
able example  Avhere  the  usual  order  of  nature  was  reversed  in 
one  instance,  and  yet  continuing  blindly  consistent  in  another. 
It  is  also  very  remarkable  that  the  young  fish,  native  of  the 
lakes,  are  as  interested  to  mark  the  indications  of  falling  water 
as  those  that  come  into  them ;  and  in  a  long  series  of  years  of 
observation,  but  one  fall  was  ever  known  before  the  fish  had 
left  the  lakes. 


ARROW-FISHING.  59 

however,  are  covered  with  innumerable  bubbles,  either 
floating  about,  or  breaking  into  little  circling  ripples. 

To  the  supcrticial  observer,  these  air-bubbles  mean 
little  or  nothing;  to  the  arrow-fisherman  they  are  the 
very  language  of  his  art ;  visible  writing  upon  the  un- 
stable water,  unfolding  the  secrets  of  the  depths  below, 
and  guiding  him,  with  unerring  certainty,  in  his  pur- 
suits. 

Seat  yourself  quietly  in  this  little  skiff,  and  while  I 
paddle  (juietly  out  into  the  lake,  I  will  translate  to  you 
these  apparent  wonders,  and  give  you  a  lesson  in  the 
simple  language  of  nature. 

'-  An  air-bubble  is  an  air-bubble,"  you  say,  and 
"  your  fine  distinctions  must  be  in  the  imagination." 

Well !  then  mark  how  stately  ascends  that  large 
globule  of  air ;  if  you  will  time  each  succeeding  one  by 
your  watch,  you  will  find  that  while  they  appear,  it  is  at 
regular  intervals,  and  when  they  burst  upon  the  surface 
of  the  water,  there  is  the  least  spray  in  the  world  spark- 
ling for  an  instant  in  the  sun.  Now,  yonder,  if  you  will 
observe,  are  very  minute  bubbles  that  seem  to  simmer 
towards  the  surface.  Could  you  catch  the  air  of  the 
first  bubble  we  noticed,  and  give  it  to  an  ingenious 
chemist^  he  would  tell  you  that  it  was  a  light  gas,  that 
exhaled  from  decaying  vegetable  matter. 

The  arrow-fisherman  will  tell  you  that  it  comes  from 
an  old  stump,  and  is  denominated  a  dead  bubble.  That 
"  simmering  "  was  made  by  some  comfortable  turtle,  as 


60  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

he  opened  his  mouth  and  gave  his  breath  to  the  sur- 
rounding element. 

Look  ahead  of  you :  vrhen  did  you  ever  see  an  Ar- 
chimedean screw  more  beautifully  marked  out  than  by 
that  group  of  bubbles  ?  They  are  very  light,  indeed, 
and  seem  thus  gracefully  to  struggle  into  the  upper 
world ;  they  denote  the  eager  workings  of  some  terrapin 
in  the  soft  mud  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake.  In  the  shade 
of  yonder  lusty  oak,  you  will  perceive  what  arrow-fisher- 
men call  a  "feed;"  you  see  that  the  bubbles  are  entirely 
unlike  any  we  have  noticed ;  they  come  rushing  upwards 
swiftly,  like  handfuls  of  silver  shot.  They  are  lively 
and  animated  to  look  at,  and  are  caused  by  the  fish  be- 
low, as  they,  around  the  root  of  that  very  oak,  search 
for  insects  for  food.  To  those  bubbles  the  arrow-fisher- 
man hastens  for  game ;  they  are  made  by  the  fish  that 
he  calls  legitimate  for  his  sport. 

In  early  spring  the  fish  are  discovered,  not  only  by 
the  bubbles  they  make,  but  by  various  sounds,  uttered 
while  searching  for  food.  These  sounds  are  familiar- 
ized, and  betray  the  kind  of  fish  that  make  them.  In 
late  spring,  from  the  middle  of  May  to  June,  the  fish 
come  near  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  expose  their 
mouths  to  the  air,  keeping  up,  at  the  same  time,  a  con- 
stant motion  with  it,  called  "piping." 

Fish  thus  exposed  are  in  groups,  and  are  called  a 
"  float."  The  cause  of  this  phenomenon  is  hard  to  ex- 
plain, all  reasons  given  being  unsatisfactory.     As  it  is 


ARROW-FISHING.  61 

only  exhibited  in  the  hottest  of  weather,  it  may  be  best 
accounted  for  in  the  old  verse  : 

"Tho  sun,  from  its  pcrpernhciilnr  height, 
Illumined  the  depths  of  the  sea; 
The  fishes,  beginning  to  sweat. 

Cry,  'Dang  it,  how  hot  we  shall  be ! ' " 

There  are  several  kinds  of  fish  that  attract  the  at- 
tention of  the  arrow-fishermen.  Two  kinds  only  are 
professedly  pursued,  the  "carp"  and  the  "buffalo." 
Several  others,  however,  are  attacked  for  the  mere  pur- 
pose of  amusement,  among  which  we  may  mention  a  spe- 
cies of  perch,  and  the  most  extraordinary  of  all  fish,  the 
"gar." 

The  carp  is  a  fish  known  to  all  anglers.  Its  habits 
must  strike  every  one  familiar  with  them,  as  being  emi- 
nently in  harmony  with  the  retreats  we  have  described. 
In  these  lakes  they  vary  in  weight  from  five  to  thirty 
pounds,  and  are  preferred  bv  arrow-fishermen  to  all 
other  fish. 

The  "  buffalo,"  a  sort  of  fresh-water  sheep's-head,  is 
held  next  in  estimation.  A  species  of  perch  is  also 
taken,  that  vary  from  three  to  ten  pounds,  in  weight ; 
but  as  they  are  full  of  bones  and  coarse  in  flesh,  they 
are  killed  simply  to  test  the  skill  of  the  arrow  fisher- 
man.* 

•  Tlie  carp,  to  which  we  allude,  is  so  accurately  described  in 
its  habits   in   "Blane's   Encyclopedia  of  Rural   Sports,"  when 


62  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HU.NTER. 

The  incredible  increase  of  fishes  has  been  a  matter 
of  immemorial  observation.  In  the  retired  lakes  and 
streams  we  speak  of,  but  for  a  wise  arrangement  of 
Providence,  it  seems  not  improbable  that  they  would 
outgrow  the  very  space  occupied  by  the  element  in 
which  they  exist,  To  prevent  this  consummation,  there 
are  fresh  water  fiends,  more  terrible  than  the  wolves  and 
tigers  of  the  land,  that  prowl  on  the  finny  tribe,  with  an 
appetite  commensurate  with  their  plentifulness,  destroy- 
ing millions  in  a  day,  yet  leaving,  from  their  abundance, 
untold  numbers  to  follow  their  habits  and  the  cycle  of 
their  existence  undisturbed.  These  terrible  destroyers 
have  no  true  representatives  in  the  sea ;  they  seem  to 
be   peculiar    to   waters    tributary    to    the    Mississippi. 


speaking  of  the  Eui-opean  carp,  that  we  are  tempted  to  make 
one  or  two  extracts  that  are  remarkable  for  their  truthfulness 
as  applied  to  the  section  of  the  United  States  wliere  arrow- 
fishing  is  a  sport.  In  the  work  we  allude  to,  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing: , 

"The  usual  length  of  the  carp  in  our  own  country  (England) 
is  from  about  twelve  to  fifteen  or  sixteen  inches ;  but  «i  warm 
climates,  it  often  arrives  at  the  length  of  two,  three,  or  four  feet, 
and  to  the  weight  of  twenty,  thirty,  or  even  forty  pounds." 
Par.  3448.  Again,  "  The  haunts  of  the  carp  of  stagnant  water 
are,  during  the  spring  and  autumn  months,  in  the  deepest  parts, 
particularl}'  near  the  flood-gates  by  Avhich  water  is  received  and 
let  off.  In  the  summer  months  they  frequent  the  weed  beds, 
and  come  near  to  the  surface,  and  particularly  are  fond  of  aquatic 
plants,  which  spring  from  the  bottom  and  rise  to  the  top."  Par. 
3453.  We  find  that  the  fish  retains  the  same  distinctive  habits 
in  both  hemispheres,  altering  only  from  the  peculiarities  of  the 
countrv. 


ARROW-FISHING.  63 

There  are  two  kinds  of  thcra,  alike  in  office,  but  distinct 
in  species ;  thej  are  known  by  those  who  fish  in  the 
streams  which  they  inhabit  as  the  "gar."  They  are,  when 
grown  to  their  full  size,  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  length, 
voracious  monsters  to  look  at.  so  well  made  for  strength, 
so  perfectly  protected  from  assault,  so  capable  of  inflict- 
ing injury.  The  smaller  kind,  growing  not  larger  than 
six  feet,  have  a  body  that  somewhat  resembles  in  form 
the  pike,  covered  by  what  looks  more  like  large,  flat 
heads  of  wrought  iron,  than  scales,  which  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  remove  without  cutting  them  out — they  are  so 
deeply  imbedded  in  the  flesh.  The  jaws  of  this  mon- 
ster, form  about  one  fourth  of  its  whole  length;  they  are 
shaped  like  the  bill  of  a  goose,  armed  in  the  interior 
with  triple  rows  of  teeth,  as  sharp,  and  well  set,  as  those 
of  a  saw. 

But  the  terror^  is  the  '•  alligator  gar,"  a  monster  that 
seems  to  combine  all  the  most  destructive  powers  of  the 
shark  and  the  reptile.  The  alligator  gar  grows  to  the 
enormous  length  of  fifteen  feet ;  its  head  resembles  the 
alligator's ;  within  its  wide-extended  jaws  glisten  in- 
numerable rows  of  teeth,  running,  in  solid  columns, 
down  into  its  very  throat.  Blind  in  its  instinct  to  de- 
stroy, and  singularly  tenacious  of  life,  it  seems  to  prey 
with  untiring  energy,  and  with  an  appetite  that  is  in- 
creased by  gratification. 

Such  are  the  fish,  that  are  made  victims  of  the  mere 
sport  of  the  arrow-fisherman. 


G4  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

The  implements  of  the  arrow-fisherman  are  a  strong 
bow,  five  or  six  feet  long,  made  of  black  locust  or  of 
cedar  (the  latter  being  preferred),  and  an  arrow  of  ash, 
three  feet  long,  pointed  with  an  iron  spear  of  peculiar 
construction.  The  spear  is  eight  inches  long,  one  end 
has  a  socket,  in  which  is  fitted  loosely  the  wooden  shaft ; 
the  other  end  is  a  flattened  point ;  back  of  this  point 
there  is  inserted  the  barb,  which  shuts  into  the  iron  as 
it  enters  an  object,  but  will  open  if  attempted  to  be 
drawn  out.  The  whole  of  this  iron-work  weighs  three 
ounces.  A  cord,  about  the  size  of  a  crow-quill,  fifteen 
or  twenty  feet  long,  is  attached  to  the  spear,  by  which 
is  held  the  fish  when  struck. 


^^^. 


Of  the  water-craft  used  in  arrow-fishing,  much  might 
be  said,  as  it  introduces  the  common  Indian  canoe,  or  as 
it  is  familiarly  termed,  the  "  dug  out,"  which  is  nothing 
more  than  a  trunk  of  a  tree,  shaped  according  to  the  hu- 
mor or  taste  of  its  artificer,  and  hollowed  out. 

We  have  seen  some  of  these  rude  barks  that  claimed 
but  one  degree  of  beauty  or  utility  beyond  the  common 
log,  and  we  have  seen  others  as  gracefully  turned  as  was 
ever  the  bosom  of  the  loving  swan,  and  that  would,  as 
gracefully  as  Leda's  bird,  spring  through  the  rippling 
waves. 


ARROW    FISHING.  65 

The  arrow-fisher  prefers  a  canoe  with  very  little  rake, 
quite  flat  on  the  bottom,  and  not  more  than  fifteen  feet 
long,  so  as  to  be  quickly  turned.  Place  in  this  simple 
craft  the  simpler  paddle,  lay  beside  it  the  arrow,  the 
bow,  the  cord,  and  you  have  the  whole  outfit  of  the  ar- 
row-fisherman. 

To  the  uninitiated,  the  guidance  of  a  canoe  is  a  mys- 
tery. The  grown-up  man.  who  first  attempts  to  move  on 
skates  over  the  glassy  ice,  has  a  command  of  his  limbs, 
and  a  power  of  locomotion,  that  the  novice  in  canoe  navi- 
gation has  not.  Never  at  rest,  it  seems  to  rush  from 
under  his  feet ;  overbalanced  by  an  overdrawn  breath, 
it  precipitates  its  victim  into  the  water.  Every  efi'ort 
renders  it  more  and  more  unmanageable,  until  it  is  con- 
demned as  worthless. 

But,  let  a  person  accustomed  to  its  movements  take 
it  in  charge,  and  it  gayly  launches  into  the  stream ; 
whether  standing  or  sitting,  the  master  has  it  entirely 
under  his  control,  moving  any  way  with  a  quickness,  a 
pliability,  quite  wonderful,  forward,  sideways,  back- 
wards ;  starting  off  in  an  instant,  or  while  at  the  great- 
est speed,  instantly  stopping  still,  and  doing  all  tliis 
more  perfectly,  than  with  any  other  water-craft  of  tho 
world. 

In  arrow-fishing,  two  persons  are  only  employed ; 
each  one  has  his  work  designated — "  the  paddler''  and 
"  bowman.  ■ 

Before  the  start  is  made,  a  pcrt'ect  luulcrbtanding  is 


66  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

had,  so  that  their  movements  are  governed  by  signs. 
The  delicate  canoe  is  pushed  into  the  hake,  its  occupants 
scarcely  breathe  to  get  it  balanced,  the  paddler  is  seated 
in  Its  bottom,  near  its  centre,  where  he  remains,  govern- 
inp-  the  canoe  in  all  its  motions,  without  ever  taking  the 
paddle  from  the  water. 

The  fisherman  stands  at  the  bow  ;  around  the  wrist 
of  his  left  hand  is  fastened,  by  a  loose  loop,  the  cord  at- 
tached to  the  arrow,  which  cord  is  wound  around  the 
forefinger  of  the  same  hand,  so  that  when  paying  ofi",  it 
will  do  so  easily.  In  the  same  hand  is,  of  course,  held 
the  bow.  In  the  right  is  carried  the  arrow,  and,  by  its 
significant  pointing,  the  paddler  gives  directions  for  the 
movements  of  the  canoe. 

The  craft  glides  along,  scarcely  making  a  ripple ;  a 
"  feed "  is  discovered,  over  which  the  canoe  stops  ;  the 
bowman  draws  his  arrow  to  the  head ;  the  game,  dis- 
turbed, is  seen  in  the  clear  water  rising  slowly  and  per- 
pendicularly, but  otherwise  perfectly  motionless;  the 
arrow  speeds  its  way  ;  in  an  Instant  the  shaft  shoots 
into  the  air,  and  floats  quietly  away,  while  the  wounded 
fish,  carrying  the  spear  in  its  body,  endeavours  to 
escape. 

The  "  pull  ■'  is  managed  so  as  to  come  directly  from 
the  bow  of  the  canoe ;  it  lasts  but  for  a  moment  before 
the  transfixed  fish  is  seen,  fins  playing,  and  full  of  ago- 
nizing life,  dancing  on  the  top  of  the  water,  and  in  an- 
other instant  more  lies  dead  at  the  bottom  of  the  canoe. 


1  lie  (...wiiiaii  .Intw-  III*  at  row  t..  llio  li.jwl."— /"'i/'  ♦'<> 


ARROW    FISHING.  67 

The  shaft  is  then  gone  after,  picked  up,  and  thrust  into 
the  spear:  the  cord  is  hlmIu  adjusted,  and  tlie  canoe 
moves  towards  the  merry  makers  of  tliose  swift  ascend- 
ing bubbles,  so  brightly  displaying  themselves  on  the 
edge  of  that  deep  shade,  cast  by  yonder  evergreen  oak. 

There  is  much  in  the  associations  of  arrow-fishing 
that  gratifies  taste,  and  makes  it  partake  of  a  refined 
and  intellectual  character.  Beside  the  knowledge  it 
gives  of  the  character  of  fishes,  it  practises  one  in  the 
curious  refractions  of  water.  Thus  will  the  arrow-fish- 
erman, from  long  experience,  drive  his  pointed  shaft  a 
fathom  deep  for  game,  when  it  would  seem,  to  the  nov- 
ice, that  a  few  inches  would  be  more  than  sufficient. 

Again,  the  waters  that  supply  the  arrow-fisherman 
with  game,  afi'ord  subsistence  to  innumerable  birds,  and 
he  has  exhibited  before  him,  the  most  beautiful  displays 
of  their  devices  to  catch  the  finny  tribe. 

Tiie  kingfisher  may  be  seen  the  livelong  day,  acting 
a  prominent  part,  bolstering  up  its  fantastic  topknot,  as 
if  to  apologize  for  a  manifest  want  of  neck  ;  you  can 
hear  him  always  scolding  and  clamorous  among  the  low 
brush,  and  overhanging  limits  of  trees,  eyeing  the  min- 
nows as  they  glance  along  the  shore,  and  making  vain 
essays  to  fasten  them  in  his  bill. 

The  hawk,  too,  often  swoops  down  from  the  clouds, 
swift  as  the  bolt  of  Jove ;  the  cleft  air  whistles  in  the 
flight  :  the  sportive  fish,  playing  in  the  sunlight,  is 
snatched    up   in    the   rude   talons,  and  borne  aloft,  the 


68  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUXTER. 

reeking  water  from  its  scaly  sides  falling  in  soft  spray 
upon  the  upturned  eye  that  traces  its  daring  course. 
But  we  treat  of  fish,  and  not  of  birds. 

Yonder  is  our  canoe ;  the  paddle  has  stopped  it 
short,  just  where  you  see  those  faint  bubbles ;  the  water 
is  very  deep  beneath  them,  and  reflects  the  frail  bark 
and  its  occupants,  as  clearly  as  if  they  were  floating  in 
raid  air.  The  bowman  looks  into  the  water — the  flsh 
are  out  of  sight,  and  not  disturbed  by  the  intrusion 
above  them.  They  are  eating  busily,  judging  from  the 
ascending  bubbles. 

The  bowman  lets  fall  the  "  heel "  of  his  arrow  on 
the  bottom  of  the  canoe,  and  the  bubbles  instantly  cease. 
The  slight  tap  has  made  a  great  deal  of  noise  in  the 
water,  though  scarcely  heard  out  of  it.  There  can  be 
seen  rising  to  the  surface  a  tremendous  carp.  How  qui- 
etly it  conies  upwards,  its  pectoral  flns  playing  like  the 
wings  of  the  sportive  butterfly.  Another  moment,  and 
the  cold  iron  is  in  its  body. 

Paralyzed  for  an  instant,  the  fish  rises  to  the  surface 
as  if  dead,  then,  recovering  itself,  it  rushes  downwards, 
until  the  cord  that  holds  it  prisoner  tightens,  and 
makes  the  canoe  tremble  ;  the  eftbrt  has  destroyed  it, 
and  without  another  struggle  it  is  secured. 

When  the  fish  first  come  into  the  lakes,  they  move  in 
pairs  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  while  so  doing 
they  are  shot,  as  it  is  called,  "  flying." 

In  early  spring  fifteen  or  twenty  fish  arc  secured  in 


ARROW-FISHING.  69 

an  hour.  As  tlic  season  advances,  three  or  four  taken 
in  the  same  length  of  time,  is  considered  quite  good 
success. 

To  stand  upon  tlie  shore,  and  see  the  arrow-fisherman 
busily  employed,  is  a  very  interesting  exhibition  of 
skill,  and  of  the  picturesque.  The  little  ''  dug  out" 
seems  animate  with  intelligence  ;  the  bowman  draws  his 
long  shaft,  you  see  it  enter  the  water,  and  then  follows 
the  glowing  sight  of  the  fine  fish  sparkling  in  the  sun,  as 
if  sprinkled  with  diamonds. 

At  times,  too,  when  legitimate  sport  tires,  some  ra- 
venous gar  that  heaves  in  sight,  is  made  a  victim  ;  aim 
is  taken  just  ahead  of  his  dorsal  fin  ;  secured,  he  floun- 
ders a  while,  and  then  drags  off  the  canoe  as  if  in  har- 
ness, skimming  it  almost  out  of  the  water  with  his  speed. 
Fatigued,  finally,  with  his  useless  endeavours  to  escape, 
he  will  rise  to  the  surface,  open  his  huge  mouth,  and 
gasp  for  air.  The  water  that  streams  from  his  jaws 
will  be  colored  with  blood  from  the  impaled  fish  that 
still  struggle  in  the  terrors  of  his  barbed  teeth.  Ru.sh- 
ing  ahead  again,  he  will,  by  eccentric  movements,  try 
the  best  skill  of  the  paddler  to  keep  his  canoe  from 
overturning  into  the  lake,  a  consummation  not  always 
unattained.  The  gar  finally  dies,  and  is  dragged  ashore ; 
this  buzzard  revels  on  his  carcass,  and  every  piscator 
contemplates,  with  disgust,  the  great  enemy  to  his  game, 
this  terrible  monarch  of  the  fresh-water  seas. 

The  crumbling  character   of  the  alluvial  banks  that 


70  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HTNTER. 

line  our  southern  streams,  the  quantity  of  fallen  timber, 
the  amount  of  "  snags"  and  "  saw^^ers,"  and  the  great 
plentifulness  of  game,  make  the  beautiful  art  of  angling, 
as  pursued  in  our  Northern  States,  impossible. 

The  veriest  tyro,  who  finds  a  delicate  reed  in  every 
nook  that  casts  a  shadow  in  the  water,  with  his  rough 
line,  and  coarser  hook,  can  catch  fish.  The  greedy 
perch,  in  all  its  beautiful  varieties,  swim  eagerly  and 
swiftly  around  the  snare,  and  swallow  it,  without  sus- 
picion that  a  worm  is  not  a  worm,  or  that  appearances 
are  ever  deceitful.  The  jointed  rod,  the  scientific  reel, 
cannot  be  used;  the  thick  hanging  bough,  the  rank 
grass,  the  sunken  log,  the  far  reaching  melumbium^  the 
ever  still  water,  make  these  delicate  appliances  useless. 

Arrow-fishing  only,  of  all  the  angling  in  the  interior 
streams  of  the  southwest,  comparatively  speaking,  claims 
the  title  of  an  art,  as  it  is  pursued  with  a  skill  and  a 
thorough  knowledge  that  tell  only  with  the  experienced, 
and  to  the  novice,  is  an  impossibility. 

The  originators  of  arrow-fishing  deserve  the  credit  of 
striking  out  a  rare  and  beautiful  amusement,  when  the 
difficulties  of  securing  their  game  did  not  require  it, 
showing  tliat  it  resulted  in  the  spirit  of  true  sport 
alone. 

The  origin  of  arrow-fishing  we  know  not ;  the  coun- 
try where  it  is  pursued  is  comparatively  of  recent  set- 
tlement ;  scarce  three  generations  have  passed  away 
within  its  boundaries. 


ARR0W-F1SHIN(;. 


71 


We  asked  the  oldest  piscator  that  lived  in  the  vici- 
nity of  these  "  dry  lakes,"  for  information  regarding  the 
early  history  of  arrow-fishing,  and  he  told  us,  that  it  was 
''  invented  hy  old  Uncle  Zac,"  and  gave  ns  his  history 
in  a  brief  and  pathetic  manner,  concluding  iii^  reminis- 
cences of  the  great  departed,  as  follows  : 

"  Uncle  Zac  never  kuow'd  nothing  'bout  flies,  or  tick- 
ling trout,  but  it  took  Jiiju  to  tell  the  difference  'twixt 
a  yarth  worm,  a  grub,  or  the  young  of  a  wasp's  nest ;  in 
fact,  he  know'd  fishes  amazin\  and  bein'  natur-ally  a 
hunter,  he  went  to  shooten  'em  with  a  bow  and  arrer,  to 
keep  up  yerly  times  in  his  history,  when  he  tuck  Inguns 
and  othrr  varmints,  in  the  same  way." 


THE  BIG  BEAR  OF  ARKANSAS. 

A  STEAMBOAT  on  the  Mississippi,  frequently,  in  making 
her  regular  trips,  carries  between  places  varying  from 
one  to  two  thousand  miles  apart ;  and,  as  these  boats 
advertise  to  land  passengers  and  freight  at  "all  inter- 
mediate landings,"  the  heterogeneous  character  of  the 
passengers  of  one  of  these  up-country  boats  can  scarcely 
be  imagined  by  one  who  has  never  seen  it  with  his  own 
eyes. 

Starting  from  New  Orleans  in  one  of  these  boats, 
yon  will  find  yourself  associated  with  men  from  every 
State  in  the  Union,  and  from  every  portion  of  the  globe; 
and  a  man  of  observation  need  not  lack  for  amusement 
or  instruction  in  such  a  crowd,  if  he  will  take  the  trouble 
to  read  the  great  book  of  character  so  favorably  opened 
before  him. 

Here  may  be   seen,  jostling  together,  the  wealthy 


11k-  IJi;;   licjir  ..f  Ark 


I  in:   r.Kj   bear   of  Arkansas.  73 

Southern  juauit  r  and  the  podlcr  of  tinwiirc  truni  New 
Eaglaiul — the  Northern  merchant  and  the  Southern 
jockey — a  venerable  bishop,  and  a  desperate  gambler — 
the  land  speculator,  and  the  honest  farmer — professional 
men  of  all  creeds  and  characters — Wolvereens,  Suckers, 
Hoosiers,  Bucke3-e8,  and  Corncrackers,  beside  a  "plen- 
tiful sprinkling "  of  the  half-horse  and  half-alligator 
species  of  men,  who  are  peculiar  to  "  old  Mississippi," 
and  who  appear  to  gain  a  livelihood  by  simply  going  up 
and  down  the  river.  In  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  or  busi- 
ness, I  have  frequently  found  myself  in  such  a  crowd. 

On  one  occasion,  when  in  New  Orleans,  I  had  occa- 
sion to  take  a  trip  of  a  few  miles  up  the  Mississippi, 
and  I  hurried  on  board  the  well-known  "  high-pressure- 
and-beat-every-thing"  steamboat  "Invincible,''  just  as 
the  last  note  of  the  last  bell  was  sounding ;  and  when 
the  confusion  and  bustle  that  is  natural  to  a  boat's 
getting  under  way  had  subsided,  I  discovered  that  I 
was  associated  in  as  heterogeneous  a  crowd  as  was  ever 
got  together.  A'fnny  trip  was  to  be  of  a  few  hours' 
duration  only,  I  made  no  endeavors  to  become  acquainted 
with  my  fallow-passengers,  most  of  whom  would  be  to- 
gether many  days.  Instead  of  this,  I  took  out  of  my 
pocket  the  '' latest^^paperi'  and  more  critically  than 
usual  examined  its  coirtents  %  my  fellow-passengers,  at 
the  same  time,  disposed  of  themselves  in  little  groups. 
•^  While  I  was  thus  busily  employed  in  reading,  and 
my  comMniTons  ^  were   more    busily  still    employed,   iu 

f 


I 


r 


74  THE    mVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTEK. 

discussing  such  subjects  as  suited  their  humors  best, 
we  were  most  unexpectedly  startled  by  a  loud  Indian 
whoop,  uttered  in  the  "social  hall,"  that  part  of  the 
cabin  fitted  off  for  a  bar ;  then  was  to  be  heard  a  loud 
crowing,  which  would  not  have  continued  to  interest  us 
— such  sounds  being  tjuite  common  in  that  place  of 
spirits — had  not  the  hero  of  these  windy  accomplish- 
ments stuck  his  head  into  the  cabin,  and  hallooed  out, 
"  Hurra  for  the  Big  Bear  of  Arkansaw  ! " 

Then  might  be  heard  a  confused  hum  of  voices,  un- 
intelligible, save  in  such  broken  sentences  as  "  horse," 
"  screamer,"  "  lightning  is  slow,"  &c. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  this  continued  inter- 
ruption, attracted  the  attention  of  every  one  in  the  cabin ; 
all  conversation  ceased,  and  in  the  midst  of  this  surprise, 
the  "  Big  Bear  "  walked  into  the  cabin,  took  a  chair,  put 
his  feet  on  the  stove,  and  looking  back  over  his  shoul- 
der, passed  the  general  and  familiar  salute — "  Strangers, 
how  are  you?" 

He  then  expressed  himself  as  much  at  home  as  if  he 
had  been  at  "  the  Forks  of  Cypress,"  and  "  prehaps  a 
little  more  so." 

Some  of  the  company  at  this  familiarity  looked  a 
little  angry,  and  some  astonished  ;  but  in  a  moment 
every  face  was  wreathed  in  a  smile.  There  was  some- 
thing about  the  intruder  that  won  the  heart  on  sight. 
He  appeared  to  be  a  man  enjoying  perfect  health  and 
contentment ;  his  eyes  were  as  sparkling  as  diamonds. 


THE    HK;     hear    of    ARKANSAS.  Tf) 

and  good-natured  to  .simplicity.     Then  liis  perfect  con- 
fidence in  himself  was  irresistibly  droll. 

"  Prehaps,"  said  he,  "  gentlemen,"  running  on  without 
a  person  interrupting,  "  prehaps  you  have  been  to  New 
Orleans  often  ;  I  never  made  tlie  first  visit  before,  and 
I  don't  intend  to  make  another  in  a  crow's  life.  I  am 
thrown  away  in  that  ar  place,  and  useless,  that  ar  a  fact. 
Some  of  the  gentlemen  thar  called  me  green — well,  pre- 
haps I  am,  said  I,  but  I arnH  so  at  home  ;  and  if  I  aint 
oflf  my  trail  much,  the  heads  of  them  perlite  chaps  them- 
selves wern't  much  the  hardest ;  for  according  to  my 
notion,  they  were  real  know-nothings,  green  as  a  pump- 
kin-vine— couldn't,  in  farming,  I'll  bet,  raise  a  crop  of 
turnips ;  and  as  for  shooting,  they'd  miss  a  barn  if  the 
door  was  swinging,  and  that,  too,  with  the  best  rifle  in 
the  country.  And  then  they  talked  to  me  'bout  hunt- 
ing, and  laughed  at  my  calling  the  principal  game  in 
Arkausaw  poker,  and  high-low-jack. 

'• '  Prehaps,'  said  I,  'you  prefer  checkers  and  roulette;' 
at  this  they  laughed  harder  than  ever,  and  asked  me  if 
I  lived  in  the  woods,  and  didn't  know  what  game  was  ? 

"  At  this,  I  rather  think  /  laughed. 

"  *  Yes,'  I  roared,  and  says,  I,  '  Strangers,  if  you'd 
asked  me  how  wc  got  our  meat  in  Arkansaw,  I'd  a  told 
you  at  once,  and  given  you  a  list  of  varmints  that  would 
make  a  caravan,  beginning  with  the  bar,  and  ending  oflf 
with  the  cat;  that's  ment  though,  not  game. 

"  Game,  indeed, — that's  what  city  folks  c:ill  it ;  and 


I 


76  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

with  them  it  means  chippen-birds  and  shite-pokes  ;  may 
be  such  trash  live  in  my  diggins,  but  I  arn't  noticed 
them  yet :  a  bird  anyway  is  too  triflinof.  I  never  did 
shoot  at  but  one,  and  I'd  never  forgiven  myself  for  that, 
had  it  weighed  less  than  forty  pounds.  I  wouldn't 
draw  a  rifle  on  any  thing  less  heavy  than  that;  and 
when  I  meet  with  another  wild  turkey  of  the  same  size, 
I  will  drap  him." 

"  A  wild  turkey  weighing  forty  pounds  !  "  exclaimed 
twenty  voices  in  the  cabin  at  once. 

"  Yes,  strangers,  and  wasn't  it  a  whopper  ?  You 
see,  the  thing  was  so  fat  that  it  couldn't  fly  far ;  and 
when  he  fell  out  of  the  tree,  after  I  shot  him,  on  striking 
the  ground  he  bust  open  behind,  and  the  way  the  pound 
gobs  of  tallow  rolled  out  of  the  opening  was  perfectly 
beautiful." 

''  Where  did  all  that  happen?  "  asked  a  cynical-look- 
ing Hoosier. 

"  Happen  !  happened  in  Arkansaw  :  where  else 
could  it  have  happened,  but  in  the  creation  State,  the 
finishingup  country — a  State  where  the  sile  runs  down 
to  the  centre  of  the  'arth,  and  government  gives  you  a 
title  to  every  inch  of  it  ?  Then  its  airs — ^just  breathe 
them,  and  they  will  make  you  snort  like  a  horse.  It's 
a  State  without  a  fault,  it  is." 

"  Excepting  mosquitoes,"  cried  the  Hoosier. 
"  Well,  stranger,  except  them ;  for  it  ar  a  fact  that 
tiiey  aro  rather  monnous,  and  do   push  tliemselves  in 


THE    BIG    BEAU    OF    ARKANSAS.  // 

somewhat  trouMosome.  l^iit,  stranger,  they  never  stick 
twice  in  the  same  place;  and  give  ihcm  a  fair  chance 
for  a  few  montlis,  and  you  will  get  as  much  above  no- 
ticing them  as  an  alligator.  They  can't  hurt  my  feel- 
ings, for  they  lay  under  the  skin  ;  and  I  never  knew  but 
one  case  of  injury  resulting  from  them,  and  that  was  to 
a  Yankee :  and  they  take  worse  to  foreigners,  any  how, 
than  they  do  to  natives.  But  the  way  they  used  that 
fellow  up  !  first  they  punched  him  until  he  swelled  up 
and  bu.sted ;  then  he  sup-pcr-a-ted,  as  the  doctor  called 
it,  until  he  was  as  raw  as  beef;  then,  owing  to  the 
warm  weather,  he  tuck  the  ager,  and  finally  he  tuck  a 
steamboat  and  left  the  country.  He  was  the  only  man 
that  ever  tuck  mosquitoes  at  heart  that  I  knowd  of. 

"  But  mos«|uitoes  is  natur,  and  I  never  find  fault 
with  her.  If  they  ar  large,  Arkansaw  is  large,  her  var- 
mints ar  large,  her  trees  ar  large,  her  rivers  ar  large, 
and  a  small  mosquito  would  be  of  no  more  use  in  Ar- 
kansaw than  preaching  in  a  cane-brake." 

This  knock-down  argument  in  favor  of  big  mos- 
quitoes used  the  Hoosier  up,  and  the  logician  started 
on  a  new  track,  to  explain  how  numerous  bear  were  in 
his  "  diggins,"  where  he  represented  them  to  be  "  about 
as  plenty  as  blackberries,  and  a  little  plentifuller." 

Upon  the  utterance  of  this  assertion,  a  timid  little 
man  near  me  inquired,  if  the  bear  in  Arkansaw  ever 
attacked  the  settlers  in  numbers  ? 

"  No,''  said  our  hero,  warming  with  the  subject,  "  no. 


78  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

stranger,  for  you  see  it  ain't  the  natur  of  bear  to  go  in 
droves ;  but  the  way  they  squander  about  in  pairs  and 
single  ones  is  edifying. 

"  And  then  the  way  I  hunt  them — the  old  black  ras- 
cals know  the  crack  of  my  gun  as  well  as  they  know  a 
pig's  squealing.  They  grow  thin  in  our  parts,  it  fright- 
ens them  so,  and  they  do  take  the  noise  dreadfully,  poor 
things.  That  gun  of  mine  is  a  perfect  epidemic  among 
bear  :  if  not  watched  closely,  it  will  go  off.as  quick  on  a 
warm  scent  as  my  dog  Bowieknife  will :  and  then  that 
doo- — whew  !  why  the  fellow  thinks  that  the  world  is 
full  of  bear,  he  finds  them  so  easy.  It's  lucky  he  don't 
talk  as  well  as  think  ;  for  with  his  natural  modesty,  if 
he  should  suddenly  learn  how  much  he  is  acknowledged 
to  be  ahead  of  all  other  dogs  in  the  universe,  he  would 
be  astonished  to  death  in  two  minutes. 

"  Strangers,  that  dog  knows  a  bear's  way  as  well  as 
a  horse-jockey  knows  a  woman's  :  he  always  barks  at  the 
right  time,  bites  at  the  exact  place,  and  whips  without 
getting  a  scratch, 

"  I  never  could  tell  whether  he  was  made  expressly 
to  hunt  bear,  or  whether  bear  was  made  expressly  for 
him  to  hunt ;  any  way,  I  believe  they  were  ordained  to 
go  together  as  naturally  as  Squire  Jones  says  a  man  and 
woman  is,  when  he  moralizes  in  marrying  a  couple.  In 
fact,  Jones  once  said,  said  he,  '  Marriage  according  to 
law  is  a  civil  contract  of  divine  origin  ;  it's  common  to 
all  countries  as  well  as  Arkansaw,  and  people  take  to  it 


THC    Bit;    BEAR    OF    ARKANSAS.  79 

as   naturally    as    Jim    Doggetts    Bowieknife    takcb    to 

"  What  season  of  the  yi;ir  do  your  hunts  take 
place?"  inquired  a  gentlemanly  foreigner,  who,  from 
some  peculiarities  of  his  baggage,  I  suspected  to  be  an 
Englishman,  on  some  hunting  expedition,  probably  at 
the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

"  The  season  for  bfar  hunting,  stranger,"  said  the 
man  of  Arkansaw,  "  is  generally  all  the  year  r6und,  and 
the  hunts  take  place  about  as  regular.  I  read  in  his- 
tory that  varmints  have  their  fat  season,  and  their  lean 
season.  Tliat  is  not  the  case  in  Arkansaw,  feeding  as 
they  do  upon  the  spontenacious  productions  of  the  sile, 
they  have  one  continued  fat  season  the  year  round ; 
though  in  winter  things  in  this  way  is  rather  more 
greasy  than  in  summer,  I  must  admit.  For  that  reason 
btar  witli  us  run  in  warm  weather,  but  in  winter  they 
only  waddle. 

"  Fat,  fat !  its  an  enemy  to  speed  ;  it  tames  every 
thing  that  has  plenty  of  it.  I  have  seen  wild  turkeys, 
from  its  influence,  as  gentle  as  chickens.  Run  a  b^'ar  in 
this  fat  condition,  and  the  way  it  improves  the  critter  for 
eating  is  amazing ;  it  sort  of  mixes  the  ile  up  with  the 
meat,  until  you  can't  tell  t'other  from  which.  I've  done 
this  often. 

"  I  recollect  one  perty  morning  in  particular,  of 
putting  an  old  he  fellow  on  the  stretch,  and  considering 
tlie  weight  he  carried,  be  run  well.     But  the  dogs  soon 


80  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

tired  him  down,  and  when  I  came  np  with  him  wasn't 
he  in  a  beautiful  sweat — I  might  say  fever ;  and  then  to 
see  his  tongue  sticking  out  of  his  mouth  a  feet,  and  his 
sides  sinking  and  opening  like  a  bellows,  and  his  cheeks 
so  fat  that  he  couldn't  look  cross.  In  this  fix  I  blazed 
at  him,  and  pitch  me  naked  into  a  briar  patch,  if  the 
steam  didn't  come  out  of  the  bullet-hole  ten  foot  in  a 
straight  line.  The  fellow,  I  reckon,  was  made  on  the 
high-pressure  system,  and  the  lead  sort  of  bust  his 
biler." 

"  That  column  of  steam  was  rather  curious,  or  else 
the  bear  must  have  been  very  ivarm^''^  observed  the  for- 
eigner, with  a  laugh. 

"  Stranger,  as  you  observe,  that  bear  was  warm,  and 
the  blowing  ofi"  of  the  steam  show'd  it,  and  also  how  hard 
the  varmint  had  been  run.  I  have  no  doubt  if  he  had 
kept  on  two  miles  farther  his  insides  would  have  been 
stewed ;  and  I  expect  to  meet  with  a  varmint  yet  of  ex- 
tra bottom,  that  will  run  himself  into  a  skinfull  of  bear's 
grease  :  it  is  possible  ;  much  onlikelier  things  have 
happened." 

"  Whereabouts  are  these  bears  so  abundant  ?  "  in- 
quired the  foreigner,  with  increasing  interest. 

"  Why,  stranger,  they  inhabit  the  neighborhood  of 
my  settlement,  one  of  the  prettiest  places  on  old  Mis- 
sissipp — a  perfect  location,  and  no  mistake  ;  a  place 
that  had  some  defects  until  the  river  made  the  '  cut-off ' 
at  '  Shirt-tail  bend,'  and  that  remedied  the  evil,  as  it 


THE    BIG    BEAR    OF    ARKANSAS.  81 

brought  my  cabin  on  tlie  edge  of  the  river — a  great  ad- 
vantage in  wet  weather,  I  assure  you,  as  you  can  now 
roll  a  barrel  of  whiskey  into  my  yard  in  high  water  from 
a  boat,  as  easy  as  falling  off  a  log.  It's  a  great  improve- 
ment, as  toting  it  by  land  in  a  jug,  as  1  used  to  do,  eva- 
porafed  it  too  fast,  and  it  became  expensive. 

"  Just  stop  with  me,  stranger,  a  month  or  two,  or  a 
year,  if  you  like,  and  you  will  appreciate  my  place.  I 
can  give  you  plenty  to  eat ;  for  beside  hog  and  hominy, 
you  can  have  birar-hani,  and  brar-sausages,  and  a  mattrass 
of  bearskins  to  sleep  on,  and  a  wildcat-skin,  pulled  off 
hull,  stuffed  with  corn-shucks,  for  a  pillow.  That  bed 
would  put  you  to  sleep  if  you  had  the  rheumatics  in 
every  joint  in  your  body.     I  call  that  ar  bed,  a  quietus. 

"  Then  look  at  my  '  pre-emption  ' — the  government 
aint  got  another  like  it  to  dispose  of.  Such  timber,  and 
such  bottom  land, — why  you  can't  preserve  any  thing 
natural  you  plant  in  it  unless  you  pick  it  young,  things 
thar  will  grow  out  of  shape  so  quick. 

I  once  planted  in  those  diggins  a  few  potatoes  and 
beets ;  they  took  a  fine  start,  and  after  that,  an  ox  team 
couldn't  have  kept  them  from  growing.  About  that  time 
I  went  off  to  old  Kaintuck  on  business,  and  did  not  hear 
from  them  things  in  three  months,  when  I  accidentally 
stumbled  on  a  fellow  who  had  drapped  in  at  my  place, 
with  an  idea  of  buying  me  out. 

"  *  How  did  you  like  things  ?  '  said  I. 

"*  Pretty  well,'  said  he;   *  the  cabin  is  convenient. 


82  THE    mVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

and  the  timber  land  is  good  ;  but  that  bottom  land  aint 
wortli  the  first  red  cent.'  " 

"'Why?' said  I. 

"  '  'Cause,'  said  he. 

"  '  'Cause  what  ?  '  said  I. 

" '  'Cause  it's  full  of  cedar  stumps  and  Indian 
mounds,  and  canH  be  cleared.'' 

" '  Lord,'  said  I,  '  them  ar  "  cedar  stumps "  is 
beets,  and  them  ar  "  Indian  mounds  "  tater  hills.' 

"  As  I  had  expected,  the  crop  was  overgrown  and  use- 
less :  the  sile  is  too  rich,  a } id  planting  in  Arkansaiv  is 
dangerous. 

"  I  had  a  good-sized  sow  killed  in  "that  same  bottom- 
land. The  old  thief  stole  an  ear  of  corn,  and  took  it 
down  to  eat  where  she  slept  at  night.  Well,  she  left  a 
grain  or  two  on  the  ground,  and  lay  down  on  them :  be- 
fore morning  the  corn  shot  up,  and  the  percussion  killed 
her  dead.  I  don't  plant  any  more  :  natur  intended 
Arkansaw  for  a  hunting  ground,  and  I  go  according  to 
natur." 

The  questioner,  who  had  thus  elicited  the  description 
of  our  hero's  settlement,  seemed  to  be  perfectly  satis- 
fied, and  said  no  more  ;  but  the  "  Big  Bear  of  Arkansaw" 
rambled  on  from  one  thing  to  another  with  a  volubility 
perfectly  astonishing,  occasionally  disputing  with  those 
around  him,  particularly  with  a  ''  live  Sucker"  from 
Illinois,  who  had  the  daring  to  say  that  our  Arkansaw 
friend's  stories  "  smelt  rather  tall." 


THL    HK.     UKAK     OF    ARKANSAS.  83 

The  evening  was  nearly  spent  by  the  ineidcuts  wc 
have  detailed  ;  and  conscious  that  my  own  association 
with  so  singular  a  personage  would  probably  end  before 
morning,  1  asked  him  if  he  would  not  give  me  a  descrip- 
tion of  some  particular  bear  hunt ;  adding,  that  I  took 
great  interest  in  such  things,  though  I  was  no  sports- 
man. The  desire  seemed  to  please  him,  and  he  squared 
himself  round  towards  me,  saying,  that  he  could  give  me 
an  idea  of  a  hear  hunt  that  was  never  beat  in  this  world, 
or  in  any  other.  His  manner  was  so  singular,  that  half 
of  his  story  consisted  in  his  excellent  way  of  telling  it, 
the  great  peculiarity  of  which  was,  the  happy  manner  he 
had  of  emphasizing  the  prominent  parts  of  his  conversa- 
tion. As  near  as  I  can  recollect,  I  have  italicized  the 
words,  and  given  the  story  in  his  own  way. 

"Stranger,"  said  he,  "in  bear  hunts  I  am  7iu?Jierot(s^ 
and  which  particular  one^  as  you  say,  I  shall  tell,  puz- 
zles me. 

"  There  was  the  old  she  devil  I  shot  at  the  Hurri- 
cane last  fall — then  there  was  the  old  hog  thief  I  pop- 
ped over  at  the  Bloody  Crossing,  and  then — Yes,  I  have 
it !  I  will  give  you  an  idea  of  a  hunt,  in  which  the 
greatest  bear  was  killed  that  ever  lived,  nofie  excepted  ; 
about  an  old  fellow  that  I  hunted,  more  or  less,  for  two 
or  three  years;  and  if  that  aint  a. 2mrticifh(r  bear  hiifU, 
I  ain't  got  one  to  tell. 

"  But  in  the  first  place,  stranger,  let  me  say,  I  am 
pleased  with  you,  because  you  aint  ashamed  to  gain  in- 


84  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

formation  .by  asking  and  listening ;  and  that's  what  I 
say  to  Countess's  pups  every  day  when  I'm  home ;  and 
I  have  got  great  hopes  of  them  ar  pups,  because  they  are 
continually  no&ing  about  ;  and  though  they  stick  it 
sometimes  in  the  wrong  place,  they  gain  experience  any 
how,  and  may  learn  something  useful  to  boot. 

"  Well,  as  I  was  saying  about  this  big  bf'ar,  you  see 
when  I  and  some  more  first  settled  in  our  region,  we 
were  drivin  to  hunting  naturally  ;  we  soon  liked  it,  and 
after  that  we  found  it  an  easy  matter  to  make  the  thing 
our  business.  One  old  chap  who  had  pioneered  'afore 
us,  gave  us  to  understand  that  we  had  settled  in  the 
right  place.  He  dwelt  upon  its  merits  until  it  was  af- 
fecting, and  showed  us,  to  prove  his  assertions,  more 
scratches  on  the  bark  of  the  sassafras  trees,  than  I  ever 
saw  chalk  marks  on  a  tavern  door  'lection  time. 

"  '  Who  keeps  that  ar  reckoning  ?  '  said  I. 

"  '  The  bear,'  said  he. 

"  '  What  for  ?  '  said  I.  . 

"  '  Can't  tell,'  said  he ;  '  but  so  it  is  :  the  bear  bite 
the  bark  and  wood  too,  at  the  highest  point  from  the 
ground  they  can  reach,  and  you  can  tell,  by  the  marks,' 
said  he,  '  the  length  of  the  bear  to  an  inch.' 

"  '  Enough,'  said  I  ;  '  I've  learned  something  here 
a'ready,  and  I'll  put  it  in  practice.' 

"  Well,  stranger,  just  one  month  from  that  time  I 
killed  a  bar,  and  told  its  exact  length  before  I  measured 


THE    BIG    BEAR    OF    ARKANSAS. 


85 


it,  by  those  very  marks ;  and  when  I  did  that,  I  swelled 
up  considerably — Fve  been  a  prouder  man  ever  since. 

"  So  I  went  on,  laming  something  every  day,  until  I 
was  reckoned  a  buster,  and  allowed  to  be  decidedly  the 
best  b^'ar  hunter  in  my  district;  and  that  is  a  reputation 
as  much  harder  to  earn  than  to  be  reckoned  first  man  in 
Congress,  as  an  iron  ramrod  is  harder  than  a  toadstool. 

'•  Do  the  varmints  grow  over-cunning  by  being  fool- 
ed with  by  greenhorn  hunters,  and  by  this  means  get 
troublesome,  they  send  for  me,  as  a  matter  of  course ; 
and  thus  I  do  my  own  hunting,  and  most  of  my  neigh- 
bors'. I  walk  into  the  varmints  though,  and  it  has  be- 
come about  as  much  the  same  to  me  as  drinking.  It  is 
told  in  two  sentences — 

"  A  b(?ar  is  started,  and  he  is  killed. 

"  The  thing  is  somewhat  monotonous  now — T  know 
just  how  much  they  will  run,  where  they  will  tire,  how 
much  they  will  growl,  and  what  a  thundering  time  I  will 
have  in  getting  their  meat  home.  I  could  give  you  the 
history  of  the  chase  with  all  the  particulars  at  the  com- 
mencement, I  know  the  signs  so  well — Stravger,  Fin 
certain.  Oncfl  I  met  with  a  match,  though,  and  I  will 
tell  you  about  it ;  for  a  common  hunt  would  not  be  worth 
relating. 

"  On  a  fine  fall  day,  long  time  ago,  I  was  trailing 
about  for  brar,  and  what  should  I  see  but  fresh  marks  on 
the  sassafras  trees,  about  eight  inches  above  any  in  the 
forests  that  I  knew  of.     Says  I,  '  Them  marks  is  a  hoax, 


86  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

or  it  indicates  the  d 1  bfar  that  was  ever  grown.'    In 

fact,  stranger,  I  couldn't  believe  it  was  real,  and  I  went 
on.  Again  I  saw  the  same  marks,  at  the  same  height, 
and  /  knew  the  thing  lived.  That  conviction  came 
home  to  my  soul  like  an  earthquake. 

"  Says  I,  '  Here  is  something  a-purpose  for  me  :  that 
bear  is  mine,  or  I  give  up  the  hunting  business.'  The 
very  next  morning,  what  should  I  see  but  a  number  of 
buzzards  hovering  over  my  corn-field.  '  The  rascal  has 
been  there,'  said  I,  '  for  that  sign  is  certain  :'  and,  sure 
enough,  on  examining,  I  found  the  bones  of  what  had 
been  as  beautiful  a  hog  the  day  before,  as  was  ever 
raised  by  a  Buckeye.  Then  I  tracked  the  critter  out 
of  the  field  to  the  woods,  and  all  the  marks  he  left  be- 
hind, showed  me  that  he  was  the  bear. 

"  Well,  stranger,  the  first  fair  chase  I  ever  had  with 
that  big  critter,  I  saw  him  no  less  than  three  distinct 
times  at  a  distance  :  the  dogs  run  him  over  eighteen 
miles  and  broke  down,  my  horse  gave  out,  and  I  was  as 
nearly  used  up  as  a  man  can  be,  made  on  my  principle, 
which  is  patent. 

"  Before  this  adventure,  such  things  nvere  unknown 
to  me  as  possible ;  but,  strange  as  it  was,  that  bear 
got  me  used  to  it  before  I  was  done  with  him ;  for  he 
got  so  at  last,  that  he  would  leave  me  on  a  long  chase 
quite  easy.     How  he  did  it,  I  never  could  understand. 

"  That  a  bear  runs  at  all,  is  puzzling ;  but  how  this 
one  could    tire    down  and  bust  up    a  pack  of  hounds 


THE    BIG    BEAR    OF    ARKANSAS.  87 

and  a  horse,  that  were  used  to  overhauling  every  thing 
they  started  after  iu  no  time,  was  past  my  understand- 
ing. Well,  stranger,  that  bear  finally  got  so  sassy, 
that  he  used  to  help  himself  to  a  hog  oflf  my  premises 
whenever  he  wanted  one ;  the  buzzards  followed  after 
what  he  left,  and  so,  between  hon,-  ,rt,,j  huzzard^  I  rather 
think  I  got  out  of  pork. 

"  Well,  missing  that  b^ar  so  often  took  hold  of  my 
vitals,  and  I  wasted  away.  The  thing  had  been  carried 
too  far,  and  it  reduced  me  in  flesh  faster  than  an  ager. 
I  would  sec  that  bear  in  every  thing  I  did  :  he  hitnted 
me^  and  that,  too,  like  a  devil,  which  I  began  to  think 
he  was. 

"  While  in  this  shaky  fix,  I  made  preparations  to  give 
him  a  last  brush,  and  be  done  with  it.  Having  com- 
pleted every  thing  to  my  satisfaction,  I  started  at  sun- 
rise, and  to  my  great  joy,  I  discovered  from  the  way  the 
dogs  run,  that  they  were  near  him.  Finding  his  trail 
was  nothing,  for  that  had  become  as  plain  to  the  pack 
as  a  turnpike  road. 

"  On  we  went,  and  coming  to  an  open  country,  what 
should  I  see  but  the  bear  very  leisurely  ascending  a 
hill,  and  the  dogs  close  at  his  heels,  either  a  match  for 
him  this  time  in  speed,  or  else  he  did  not  care  to  get 
out  of  their  way — I  don't  know  which.  But  wasn't  he 
a  beauty,  though  !     I  loved  him  like  a  brother. 

"  On  he  went,  until  he  came  to  a  tree,  the  limbs  of 
which  formed  a  crotch  about  six  feet  from  the  ground. 


88  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

Into  this  crotch  he  got  and  seated  himself,  the  dogs 
yelling  all  around  it ;  and  there  he  sat  eyeing  them  as 
quiet  as  a  pond  in  low  water. 

''  A  greenhorn  friend  of  mine,  in  company,  reached 
shooting  distance  before  me,  and  blazed  away,  hitting 
the  critter  in  the  centre  of  his  forehead.  The  bear 
shook  his  head  as  the  ball  struck  it,  and  then  walked 
down  from  that  tree,  as  gently  as  a  lady  would  from  a 
carriage. 

"  'Twas  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  him  do  that — he  was 
in  such  a  rage,  that  he  seemed  to  be  as  little  afraid  of 
the  dogs  as  if  they  had  been  sucking  pigs  ;  and  the  dogs 
warn't  slow  in  making  a  ring  around  him  at  a  respectful 
distance,  I  tell  you;  even  Bowiekuife  himself,  stood 
off.  Then  the  way  his  eyes  flashed  ! — why  the  fire  of 
them  would  have  singed  a  cat's  hair  ;  in  fact,  that  bear 
was  in  a  wrath  all  over.  Only  one  pup  came  near  him, 
and  he  was  brushed  out  so  totally  with  the  bear's  left 
paw.  that  he  entirely  disappeared  ;  and  that  made  the 
old  dogs  more  cautious  still.  In  the  mean  time,  I  came 
up,  and  taking  deliberate  aim,  as  a  man  should  do,  at  his 
side,  just  back  of  his  foreleg,  if  my  gi0i  did  not  snap^ 
call  me  a  coward,  and  I  won't  take  it  personal. 

"  Yes,  stranger,  it  sjiapjoed,  and  I  could  not  find  a 
cap  about  my  person.  While  in  this  predicament,  I 
turned  round  to  my  fool  friend — '  Bill,'  says  I,  '  you're 
an  ass — you're  a  fool — you  might  as  well  have  tried  to 
kill  that  bear  by  barking  the  tree  under  his  belly,  as  to 


THi:    fJIt;     HKAK    OF    ARKANSAS.  89 

have  douc  it  by  hitting  him  in  the  head.  Your  shot 
has  made  a  tiger  of  him ;  and  ])hist  me,  if  a  dog  gets 
killed  or  wounded  when  they  come  to  blows,  I  will  stick 

my  knife  into  your  liver,  I  will  .■    My  wrath  was  up. 

I  had  lost  my  caps,  my  gun  had  snapped,  the  fellow 
with  me  had  fired  at  the  bear's  head,  and  I  expected 
every  moment  to  see  him  close  in  with  the  dogs  and 
kill  a  dozen  of  them  at  least.  In  this  thing  I  was  mis- 
taken ;  for  the  b^'ar  leaped  over  the  ring  formed  by  the 
dogs,  and  giving  a  fierce  growl,  was  oflf — the  pack,  of 
course,  in  full  cry  after  him.  The  run  this  time  was 
short,  for  coming  to  the  edge  of  a  lake,  the  varmint 
jumped  in,  and  swam  to  a  little  island  in  the  lake,  which 
it  reached,  just  a  moment  before  the  dogs. 

''  '  I'll  have  him  now,'  said  I,  for  I  had  found  my 
caps  in  the  lining  of  my  coat — so,  rolling  a  log  into  the 
lake,  I  paddled  myself  across  to  the  island,  just  as  the 
dogs  had  cornered  the  brar  in  a  thicket.  I  rushed  up 
and  fired — at  the  same  time  the  critter  leaped  over  the 
dogs  and  came  within  three  feet  of  me,  running  like 
mad  ;  he  jumped  into  the  lake,  and  tried  to  mount  the 
log  I  had  just  deserted,  but  every  time  he  got  half  his 
body  on  it,  it  would  roll  over  and  send  him  under  ;  the 
dogs,  too,  got  around  him,  and  pulled  him  about,  and 
finally  Bowieknife  clenched  with  him,  and  they  sunk 
into  the  lake  together. 

"  Stranger,  about  this  time  I  was  excited,  and  I 
stripped   ofi"  my  coat,  drew  my  knife,  and  intended  to 


90  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HCNTER. 

have  taken  a  part  with  Bowieknife  myself,  when  the  bt'ar 
rose  to  the  surface.  But  the  varmint  staid  under — 
Bowieknife  came  up  alone,  more  dead  than  alive,  and 
with  the  pack  came  ashore. 

"  '  Thank  God  ! '  said  I,  '  the  old  villain  has  got  his 
deserts  at  last.' 

"  Determined  to  have  the  body,  I  cut  a  grape-vine 
for  a  rope,  and  dove  down  where  I  could  see  the  bear 
in  the  water,  fastened  my  rope  to  his  leg,  and  fished  him, 
with  great  difficulty,  ashore.  Stranger,  may  I  be 
chawed  to  death  by  young  alligators,  if  the  thing  I 
looked  at  wasn't  a  she  dear,  and  not  the  old  critter 
after  all. 

"  The  way  matters  got  mixed  on  that  island  was  on- 
accountably  curious,  and  thinking  of  it  made  me  more 
than  ever  convinced  that  I  was  hunting  the  devil  him- 
self. I  went  home  that  night  and  took  to  my  bed — 
the  thing  was  killing  me.  The  entire  team  of  Arkan- 
saw  in  bear-hunting  acknowledged  himself  used  up,  and 
the  fact  sunk  into  my  feelings  as  a  snagged  boat  will  in 
the  Mississippi.  I  grew  as  cross  as  a  bear  with  two  cubs 
and  a  sore  tail.  The  thing  got  out  'mong  my  neigh- 
bors, and  I  was  asked  how  come  on  that  individ-u-al 
that  never  lost  a  bear  when  once  started  ?  and  if  that 
same  individ-u-al  didn't  wear  telescopes  when  he  turned 
a  she-bear,  of  ordinary  size,  into  an  old  he  one,  a  little 
larger  than  a  horse  ? 

"  '  Prehaps,'  said  I,  '  friends' — getting  wrathy — '  pre- 
haps  you  want  to  call  somebody  a  liar  ?  ' 


THE    BIG    IlEAt;     OK    AFIKANSAS.  01 

'•  •  Uli,  no,'  said  they,  '  we  only  heard  of  sucli  things 
being  rathci;  common  of  late,  but  we  don't  believe  one 
word  of  it :  oh,  no,' — and  then  they  would  ride  off.  and 
laugh  like  so  many  hyenas  over  a  dead  niggii . 

It  was  too  much,  and  I  determined  to  tateh  that 
bear,  go  to  Texas,  or  die, — :nid  I  made  my  preparations 
accord  in'. 

"  I  had  the  pack  shut  up  and  rested.  I  took  my 
rifle  to  pieces,  and  iled  it. 

"  I  put  caps  in  every  pocket  about  my  person,  fat- 
fear  of  the  lining. 

"  I  then  told  my  neighbors,  that  on  Monday  morning 
— naming  the  day — I  would  start  that  b(e)ar,  and 
bring  him  home  with  me,  or  they  might  divide  my 
settlement  among  them,  the  owner  having  disappeared. 

"  Well,  stranger,  on  the  morning  previous  to  the  great 
day  of  my  hunting  expedition,  I  went  into  the  woods 
near  my  house,  taking  my  gun  and  Bowieknife  along, 
just  from  habit,  and  there  sitting  down,  also  from 
habit,  what  should  I  see,  getting  over  my  fence,  but  the 
bear  !  Yes,  the  old  varmint  was  within  a  hundred  yards 
of  me,  and  the  way  he  walked  over  that  fence — stranger ; 
he  loomed  up  like  a  b/ack  mist,  he  seemed  so  large,  and 
he  walked  right  towards  me. 

"  I  raised  myself,  took  deliberate  aim,  and  fired. 
Instantly 'the  varmint  wheeled,  gave  a  yell,  and  walked 
through  the  fence,  as  easy  as  a  failing  tree  would 
through  a  cobweb. 


92  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

"  I  started  after,  but  was  tripped  up  by  my  inex- 
pressibles, which,  either  from  habit  or  the  excitement  of 
the  moment,  were  about  my  heels,  and  before  I  had 
really  gathered  myself  up,  I  heard  the  old  varmint 
groaning,  like  a  thousand  sinners,  in  a  thicket  near  by, 
and,  by  the  time  I  reached  him,  he  was  a  corpse. 

"  Stranger,  it  took  five  niggers  and  myself  to  put  that 
carcass  on  a  mule's  back,  and  old  long-ears  waddled 
under  his  load,  as  if  he  was  foundered  in  every  leg  of 
his  body;  and  with  a  common  whopper  of  a  bear,  he 
would  have  trotted  off,  and  enjoyed  himself. 

"  'Twould  astonish  you  to  know  how  big  he  was : 
I  made  a  bed-spread  of  his  skiii^  and  the  way  it  used 
to  cover  my  bear  mattress,  and  leave  several  feet  on  each 
side  to  tuck  up,  would  have  delighted  you.  It  was,  in 
fact,  a  creation  bear,  and  if  it  had  lived  in  Samson's 
time,  and  had  met  him  in  a  fair  fight,  he  would  have 
licked  him  in  the  twinkling  of  a  dice-box. 

"But,  stranger,  I  never  liked  the  way  I  hunted  him, 
and  missed  Jiim.  There  is  something  curious  about  it, 
that  I  never  could  understand, — and  I  never  was  satis- 
fied at  his  giving  in  so  easy  at  last.  Prehaps  he  had 
heard  of  my  preparations  to  hunt  him  the  next  day,  so 
he  jist  guv  up,  like  Captain  Scott's  coon,  to  save  his 
wind  to  grunt  with  in  dying ;  but  that  ain't  likely.  My 
private  opinion  is,  that  that  bear  was  an  unliuntahle  bmr^ 
and  died  when  his  time  cojncy 

When  this  story  was  ended,  our  hero  sat  some  min- 


THE    BIG    BEAR    OF    ARKANSAS.  03 

ntes  with  his  auditors,  in  a  grave  silence;  I  saw  there 
was  a  mystery  to  him  connected  with  the  bear  whose 
death  he  had  just  related,  that  had  evidently  made  a 
strong  impression  on  his  mind.  It  was  also  evident 
that  there  was  some  superstitious  awe  connected  with 
the  affair, — a  feeling  common  with  all  "  children  of  the 
wood,"  when  they  meet  with  any  thing  out  of  their 
everyday  experience. 

lie  was  the  first  one,  however,  to  break  the  silence, 
and,  jumping  up,  he  asked  all  present  to  "  liquor  "  before 
going  to  bed, — a  thing  which  he  did,  with  a  number  of 
companions,  evidently  to  his  heart's  content. 

Long  before  day,  I  was  put  ashore  at  my  place  of 
destination,  and  I  can  only  follow  with  the  reader,  in 
imagination,  our  Arkansas  friend,  in  his  adventures  at 
the  "  Forks  of  Cypress,''  on  the  Mississippi. 


THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

"  I  have  been 
Where  the  wild  will  of  Mississippi's  tide 
Has  dashed  me  on  the  sawyer." — Beaikebd. 

The  North  American  continent — in  its  impenetrable 
forests — its  fertile  prairies — its  magnificent  lakes — its 
variety  of  rivers  witli  their  falls — is  the  richest  portion 
of  our  globe.  Many  of  these  wonderful  exhibitions  of 
nature  are  already  shrines,  where  pilgrims  from  every 
land  assemble  to  admire  and  marvel  at  the  surpassing 
wonders  of  a  new  world.  So  numerous  indeed  are  the 
objects  presented,  so  novel  and  striking  is  their  charac- 
ter, that  the  judgment  is  confused  in  endeavoring  to  de- 
cide which  single  one  is  worthy  of  the  greatest  admira- 
tion ;  and  the  forests — the  prairies — the  lakes — the 
rivers — and  falls — eaeli  in  turn  dispute  the  supremacy. 
But  to  us,  the  Mississippi  ranks  first  in  importance; 
and  thus  we  think  must  it  strike  all,  when  they  consider 
the  luxurious  fertility  of  the  valley  through  which  it 


THE    MISSISSIPPI.  95 

flows,  its  vast   extent,  and   tlic  charm  of  mystery  that 
rests  upon  its  waters. 

The  Niagara  Falls,  with  its  fearful  depths,  its  rocky 
heights,  its  thunder,  and  "  bows  of  promise,"  addresses 
itself  to  the  ear,  and  the  eye ;  and  through  these  alone 
impresses  the  beholder  with  the  greatness  of  its  eharac- 
ter.  The  Mississippi,  on  the  contrary,  although  it  may 
have  few  or  no  tangible  demonstrations  of  power,  al- 
though it  has  no  language  with  wliich  it  can  startle  the 
senses,  yet  in  a  "  still  small  voice  "  addresses  the  mind 
with  its  terrible  lessons  of  strength  and  sublimity,  more 
forcibly  than  any  other  object  in  nature. 

The  name  Mississippi,  was  derived  from  the  abori- 
gines of  the  country,  and  has  been  poetically  rendered 
the  "  Father  of  AVaters."  There  is  little  truth  in  this 
translation,  and  it  gives  no  idea,  or  scarcely  none,  of  the 
river  itself.  The  literal  meaning  of  the  Indian  com- 
pound, Mississippi,  as  is  the  case  with  all  Indian  names 
in  this  country,  would  have  been  much  better,  and  every 
way  more  characteristic.  From  the  most  numerous  In 
dian  tribe  in  the  southwest  we  derive  the  name ;  and  it 
would  seem  that  the  same  people  who  gave  the  name  to 
the  Mississippi,  at  different  times  possessed  nearly  half 
the  continent ;  judging  from  the  fact  that  the  Ohio  in 
the  north,  and  many  of  the  most  southern  points  of  the 
peninsula  of  Florida,  are  named  from  the  Choctaw  lan- 
guage. 

With  tljat  tribe   tlie   two  simple  adjectives,  MisMih 


96  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

and  Sippah,  are  used  when  describing'  the  most  familiar 
things  ;  but  these  two  words,  though  they  are  employed 
thus  familiarly,  when  separated — compounded,  form  the 
most  characteristic  name  we  can  get  of  this  wonderful 
river.  Missah,  literally  Old  big,  Sippah,  strong,  Old- 
BiG-STROXG ;  and  this  name  is  eminently  appropriate  to 
the  Mississippi. 

The  country  through  which  this  river  flows,  is  almost 
entirely  alluvial.  Not  a  stone  is  to  be  seen,  save  about 
its  head-waters ;  and  the  dark  rich  earth  "  looks  eager 
for  the  hand  of  cultivation;"  for  vegetation  lies  piled 
upon  its  surface  with  a  luxuriant  wastefulness  that  beg- 
gars all  description,  and  finds  no  comparison  for  its  ex- 
tent, except  in  the  mighty  river  from  which  it  receives 
its  support.  This  alluvial  soil  forms  but  frail  banks 
wherewith  to  confine  the  swift  current  of  the  Mississippi ; 
and,  as  might  be  imagined,  these  are  continually  altering 
their  shape  and  location. 

The  channel  is  capricious  and  wayward  in  its  course. 
The  needle  of  the  compass  turns  round  and  round  upon 
its  axis,  as  it  marks  the  bearings  of  your  craft,  and  in  a 
few  hours  will  frequently  point  due  north,  west,  east, 
and  south,  delineating  those  tremendous  bends  in  the 
stream  which  nature  seems  to  have  formed  to  check  the 
headlong  current,  and  keep  it  from  rushing  too  madly 
to  the  ocean. 

But  the  stream  does  not  always  tamely  circumscribe 
these  bends :  gathering  strength  from  resistance,  it  will 


THE  Mi!ssispirri.  97 

form  new  and  more  direct  cbauuels ;  and  thus  it  is,  that 
large  tracts  of  country  once  upou  the  river,  become  in- 
land, or  are  entirely  swept  away  by  the  current ;  and  so 
frequently  does  this  happen,  that  "  cut-oflfs  "  are  almost 
as  familiar  to  the  eye  on  the  Mississippi,  as  its  muddy 
waters. 

"When  the  Mississippi,  in  making  its  ''  cut-oflfs,''  is 
ploughing  its  way  through  the  virgin  soil,  there  float 
upon  the  top  of  this  destroying  tide,  thousands  of  trees, 
which  but  lately  covered  the  land,  and  lined  its  caving 
banks.  These  gigantic  wrecks  of  the  primitive  forests 
are  tossed  about  by  the  invisible  power  of  the  current, 
as  if  they  were  straws;  and  they  find  no  rest,  until  with 
associated  thousands  they  are  thrown  upon  some  pro- 
jecting point  of  land,  where  they  lie  rotting  for  miles, 
their  dark  forms  frequently  shooting  into  the  air  like 
writhing  serpents,  presenting  one  of  the  most  desolate 
pictures  of  which  the  mind  can  conceive.  These  masses 
of  timber  are  called  "rafts.'' 

Other  trees  become  attached  to  the  bottomof  the  river, 
and  yet  by  some  elasticity  of  the  roots  are  loose  enough 
to  be  aflfected  by  the  strange  and  powerful  current,  which 
will  bear  them  down  under  the  surface ;  and  the  trees, 
by  their  own  strength,  will  come  gracefully  up  again  to 
be  again  ingulfed ;  and  thus  they  continuously  wave  up- 
ward and  downward,  with  a  gracefulness  of  motion  which 
would  not  disgrace  a  beau  of  the  old  school.  Boats 
frequently  pass  over  these  "  sawyers,"  as  they  go  down 


98  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

stream,  pressing  them  under  by  their  weight ;  but  let 
some  unfortunate  child  of  the  genius  of  Robert  Fulton, 
as  it  passes  up  stream,  be  saluted  by  the  visage  of  one 
of  these  polite  gentry,  as  it  rises  ten  or  more  feet  in 
the  air,  and  nothing  short  of  irreparable  damage,  or 
swift  destruction  ensues  :  while  the  cause  of  all  this  dis- 
aster, after  the  concussion,  will  rise  above  the  ruin  as  if 
nothing  had  happened,  shake  the  dripping  water  from 
its  forked  limbs,  and  sink  and  rise  again,  rejoicing  in  its 
strength. 

Other  trees  become  firmly  fastened  in  the  bed  of  the 
river ;  and  their  long  trunks,  shorn  of  their  limbs,  pre- 
sent the  most  formidable  objects  of  navigation.  A  rock 
itself,  sharpened  and  set  by  art,  could  be  no  more  dan- 
gerous than  these  dread  "  snags."  Let  the  bows  of  the 
strongest  vessel  come  in  contact  with  them,  and  the  con- 
cussion will  crush  its  timbers  as  if  they  were  paper  ;  and 
the  noble  craft  will  tremble  for  a  moment  like  a  thing 
of  life,  when  suddenly  stricken  to  its  vitals,  and  then 
sink  into  its  grave. 

Such  are  the  "  cut-offs,"  "  rafts,"  "  sawyers,"  and 
"  snags,"  of  the  Mississippi ;  terms  significant  to  the 
minds  of  the  western  boatman  and  hunter,  of  qualities 
which  they  apply  to  themselves,  and  to  their  heroes, 
whenever  they  wish  to  express  themselves  strongly ;  and 
we  presume  that  the  beau-ideal  of  a  political  character 
with  them,  would  be,  one  who  would  come  at  the  truth 
by  a  "  cut-off" — separate  and  pile  up  falsehood  for  de- 


THE    MISSISSIPPI.  99 

cay  like  the  trees  of  a  "  raft :  "  and  do  all  this  with  the 
politeness  of  a  "  sawyer" — and  with  principles  unyield- 
ing as  a  "  snag." 

The  forests  that  line  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  supply,  without  any  apparent  decrease,  the  vast 
masses  of  timber  that  in  such  varied  combinations 
every  where  meet  the  eye,  are  themselves  worth}'  o£  the 
river  which  they  adorn. 

Go  into  the  primitive  forests  at  noonday,  and  how- 
ever fiercely  the  sun  may  shine,  you  will  find  yourself 
enveloped  in  gloom.  Gigantic  trees  obstruct  your  path- 
way, and  as  you  cast  your  eyes  upward,  your  head  grows 
dizzy  with  their  height.  Here,  too,  are  to  be  seen  dead 
trunks,  shorn  of  their  limbs,  and  whitening  in  the  blasts, 
that  are  as  mighty  in  their  size  as  the  pillars  of  Hercu- 
les. Grape-vines  larger  than  your  body  will,  for  some 
distance,  creep  along  the  ground,  and  then  suddenly 
spring  a  hundred  feet  into  the  air,  grasp  some  patriarch 
of  the  forest  in  its  folds,  crush,  mutilate,  and  destroy  it ; 
and  then,  as  if  to  make  amends  for  the  injury,  throw  over 
its  deadening  work  the  brightest  green,  the  richest  fo- 
liage, filled  with  fragrance,  and  the  clustering  grape. 
On  the  top  of  these  aspiring  trees,  the  squirrel  is  beyond 
the  gunshot  reach  of  the  hunter. 

Upon  the  ground  are  long  piles  of  crumbling  mould, 
distinguished  from  the  earth  around  them  by  their  nu- 
merous and  variegated  flowers.  These  immense  piles, 
higher  in  places  than  your  head,  are  but  tlie  ren»ains  of 


100  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

single  trees,  that  a  century  ago  startled  the  silence  now 
so  profound,  and  with  their  headlong  crash  sent  through 
the  green  arch  above  sounds  that  for  a  moment  silenced 
the  echoing  thunder  that  loaded  the  hurricane  that  i3ros 
trated  them. 

Here  were  to  be  seen  the  ruins  of  a  new  continent — 
herftwere  mouldering  the  antiquities  of  America — how  un- 
like those  of  the  Old  "World.  Omnipotence,  not  man,  had 
created  these  wonderful  monuments  of  greatness,  with  no 
other  tears  than  the  silent  rain,  no  other  slavery  than 
the  beautiful  laws  that  govern  nature  in  ordering  the 
seasons — and  yet  these  monuments,  created  in  inno- 
cency,  and  at  the  expense  of  so  much  time,  were  wasting 
into  nothingness.  God  above  in  his  power  could  erect 
them.  They  were  breathed  upon  in  anger  and  turned  to 
dust. 

The  vast  extent  of  the  Mississippi  is  almost  beyond 
belief.  The  stream  which  may  bear  you  gently  along  in 
midwinter,  so  far  south  that  the  sun  is  oppressive,  finds 
its  beginnings  in  a  country  of  eternal  snows.  Follow  it 
in  your  imagination  thousands  of  miles,  as  you  pass  on 
from  its  head  waters  to  its  mouth,  and  you  find  it  flow- 
ing through  almost  every  climate  under  heaven  :  nay 
more — the  comparatively  small  stream  on  which  you 
look,  receives  within  itself  the  waters  of  four  rivers 
alone ;  Arkansas,  Red,  Ohio,  and  Missouri  ;  whose 
united  length,  without  including  their  tributaries,  is 
over  eight   thousand   miles.     Yet,  tliis  mighty  flood  is 


THE    MISSISSIPI'I.  101 

hwalluwcd  uj)  bv  tlie  Mi:?.si.ssippi,  as  if  it  j)0«scs.sod 
within  itself  the  very  capacity  of  the  ocean,  and  dis- 
daiiR'd  in  its  comprehensive  limits,  to  acknowledge  the 
accession  of  strength. 

The  color  of  this  tremendous  flood  of  water  is  always 
turbid.  There  seems  no  rest  for  it,  that  will  enable  it 
to  become  quiet  or  clear.  In  all  seasons  the  same 
muddy  water  meets  the  eye  ;  and  this  strange  pecu- 
liarity suggests  to  the  mind  that  the  banks  of  the  river 
itself  are  composed  of  this  dark  sediment  which  has  in 
the  course  of  centuries  confined  the  onward  flood  within 
its  present  channel,  and  in  this  order  of  nature  we  find 
one  of  the  most  original  features  of  the  river ;  for  on 
the  Mississippi  we  have  no  land  sloping  in  gentle  de- 
clivities to  the  water's  edge,  but  a  bank  just  high 
enough,  where  it  is  washed  by  the  river,  to  protect  the 
back  country  from  inundation,  in  the  ordinary  rises  of 
the  stream;  for  whenever,  from  an  extensive  flood,  it 
rises  above  the  top  of  this  feeble  barrier,  the  water  runs 
down  into  the  country. 

This  singular  fact  shows  how  all  the  land  on  the 
Mississippi  south  of  the  thirty-fourth  degree  of  latitude, 
is  liable  to  inundation,  since  nearly  all  the  inhabitants 
on  the  shores  of  the  river,  find  its  level,  in  ordinarily 
high  water,  running  above  the  land  on  which  they  re- 
side. To  prevent  this  easy,  and  app'arently  natural  in- 
undation, there  seems  to  be  a  power  constantly  exerted 
to  hold  the  flood  in  check,  and  bid  it  ''  go  so  far  and  no 


102         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

farther;"'  and  but  for  tliis  interposition  of  Divine  power, 
here  so  signally  displayed,  the  fair  fields  of  the  South 
would  become  mere  sand-bars  upon  the  shores  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  the  country  which  might  now  support  the 
world  by  its  luxurious  vegetation,  would  only  bear  the 
angry  ocean  wave. 

Suppose,  for  an  instant,  that  a  universal  spring 
should  beam  upon  our  favored  continent,  and  that  the 
thousands  of  streams  which  are  tributary  to  the  Missis- 
sippi were  to  become  at  once  unloosed :  the  mighty  flood 
in  its  rushing  course  would  destroy  the  heart  of  the 
northwestern  continent. 

But  mark  the  goodness  and  wisdom  of  Providence  ! 
Early  in  the  spring,  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  rise  with  its 
tributaries,  and  the  Mississippi  bears  them  ofl"  without 
injuriously  overflowing  its  banks.  When  summer  sets  in, 
its  own  head-waters  about  the  lakes,  and  the  swift  Mis- 
souri, with  its  melting  ice  from  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
come  down ;  and  thus  each,  in  order,  makes  the  Missis- 
sippi its  outlet  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  But  were  all 
these  streams  permitted  to  come  together  in  their 
strength,  what,  again  we  ask,  would  save  the  Eden  gar- 
dens of  the  South  ? 

In  contemplations  like  these,  carried  out  to  their 
fullest  extent,  we  may  arrive  at  the  character  of  this 
mighty  river.  It  is  in  the  tlioughts  it  suggests,  and  not 
in  the  breadth  or  length  visible  at  any  given  point  to 
the  eye.     Depending  on  the   senses  alone,  we   should 


THi;    MI^^^^1^^U^I.  103 

never  be  coDtbuuded  by  a.*toni>  imtiii,  --i  uAcited  by  ad- 
miration. You  may  float  uj  mi  its  bosom,  and  be  lost 
amid  its  world  of  watery,  and  vet  see  nothing  of  its  vast- 
ness  ;  for  the  river  has  no  striking  beauty ;  its  waves 
run  scarce  as  high  as  a  child  can  reach  ;  upon  its  banks 
we  find  no  towering  precipices,  no  cloud-capped  moun- 
tains— all,  all  is  dull, — a  dreary  waste. 

Let  us  float  however,  day  after  day,  upon  its  appa- 
rently sluggish  surface,  and  by  comparison  once  begin 
to  comprehend  its  magnitude,  and  the  mind  becomes 
overwhelmed  with  fearful  admiration.  There  seems  to 
rise  up  from  its  muddy  waters  a  spirit  robed  in  mystery, 
that  points  back  for  its  beginning  to  the  deluge,  and 
whispers  audibly,  "  I  roll  on,  and  on,  and  on,  altering^ 
but  not  altered^  while  time  exists  !  ■' 

Here,  too,  we  behold  a  power  terrible  in  its  loneli- 
ness ;  for  on  the  Mississippi  a  sameness  meets  your  eye 
every  where,  with  scarce  a  single  change  of  scene. 

A  river  incomprehensible,  illimitable,  and  mysterious, 
flows  ever  onward,  tossing  to  and  fro  under  its  depths, 
in  its  own  channel,  as  if  fretting  in  its  ordered  limits ; 
swallowing  its  banks  here,  and  disgorging  them  else- 
where, so  suddenly  that  the  attentive  pilot,  as  he  repeats 
his  frequent  route,  feels  that  he  knows  not  where  he  is, 
and  often  hesitates  fearfully  along  in  the  mighty  flood, 
guided  only  by  the  certain  lead  ;  and  again  and  again  is 
he  startled  by  the  ominous  cry,  "  Tifss  f.itli(.in  deep!'' 


104         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

where  but  yesterday  the  lead  would  have  in  vain  gone 
down  for  soundings. 

Such  is  the  great  Aorta  of  the  continent  of  North 
America  ;  alone  and  unequalled  in  its  majesty,  it  pro- 
claims in  its  course  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God,  who 
only  can  measure  its  depths,  and  ''  turn  them  about  as 
a  very  little  thing." 


LARGE  AND  SMALL  STEAMERS  OF  THE 
MISSISSIPPI. 

The  steamboats  of  the  Mississippi  are  as  remarkable  for 
size  and  form  as  the  river  itself.  Gigantic  specimens 
of  art  that  go  bellowing  over  the  swift  and  muddy  cur- 
rent, like  restless  monsters,  breathing  out  the  whisper- 
ings of  the  hurricane,  clanking  and  groaning  as  if  an 
earthquake  was  preparing  to  convulse  the  world,  ob- 
scuring in  clouds  of  smoke  the  sun  in  the  daytime,  or 
rolling  over  the  darkness  of  night  a  flame  as  if  the  vol- 
cano had  burst  from  the  bosom  of  the  deep. 

Who,  without  wondering,  sees  them  for  the  first  time, 
as  they  rush  along,  filled  with  an  ever-busy  throng  of 
travellers,  and  loaded  with  the  boundless  wealth,  that 
teems  from  the  rich  soil,  as  the  reward  of  the  labor  of 
the  American  husbandman  ! 

The  Mississippi  is  also  very  remarkable  for  little 
steamboats,   small   specimens   of  water-craft,   that   are 


106  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

famous  lor  their  ambitious  puffings,  noisy  captains,  and 
gigantic  placards — boats  that  run  up  little  streams  that 
empty  into  the  Mississippi — boats  that  go  beyond  places 
never  dreamed  of  in  geography — never  visited  by  travel- 
lers, or  even  marked  down  in  the  scrutinizing  book  of 
the  tax  collector. 

The  first  time  one  finds  himself  in  one  of  these 
boats,  he  looks  about  him  as  did  Gulliver  when  he  got 
in  Lilliput.  It  seems  as  if  you  are  larger  and  more 
magnificent  than  an  animated  colossus — you  find,  on 
going  on  the  boat,  that  your  feet  are  on  the  lower  deck 
and  your  head  up-stairs ;  the  after-cabin  is  so  disposed 
of  that  you  can  sit  inside  of  it,  and  yet  be  near  the 
bows.  The  ladies'  cabin  has  but  one  berth  in  it,  and 
that  only  as  wide  as  a  shelf. 

The  machinery  is  tremendous  ;  two  large  kettles 
firmly  set  in  brick,  attached  to  a  complicated-looking 
coffee  mill,  two  little  steampipes  and  one  big  one. 

And  then  the  way  that  the  big  steam-pipe  will  smoke, 
and  the  little  ones  let  off  steam,  is  singular.  Then  the 
puffing  of  the  little  coffee-mill !  why  it  works  as  spite- 
fully as  a  tom-cat  with  his  tail  caught  in  the  crack  of  a 
door. 

Then  the  engineer,  to  see  him  open  "  the  furnace  " 
doors,  and  pitch  in  wood,  and  open  the  little  stop-cocks 
to  see  if  the  steam  is  not  too  high,  all  so  much  like  a  big 
steamer.  Then  the  name  of  the  craft,  "^  the  u.  s.  mail, 
EMPERORj"  the  letters  covering  over  the  whole  side  of 


STEAMERS    ON    THE    MlSSISSim.  107 

the  boat,  so  that  it  looks  like  a  locomotive  advertise- 
ment. 

Then  the  "  u.  s.  mail  "  deposited  in  one  corner  of  the 
cabin,  and  two  rifles  standing  near,  as  if  to  guard  it ; 
said  mail  being  in  a  bag  that  looks  like  a  gigantic  shot- 
pouch,  fastened  to  a  padlock,  and  said  pouch  filled  with 
three  political  speeches,  franked  by  M.  C.'s,  one  letter, 
to  a  man  who  did  not  live  at  the  place  of  its  destination, 
and  a  small  bundle  of  post-office  documents  put  in  by 
mistake. 

The  bell  that  rang  for  the  boat's  departure,  was  a 
tremendous  bell ;  it  swung  to  and  fro  awfully ;  it  was 
big  enough  for  a  cathedral,  and  as  it  rung  for  the  twen- 
tieth, '  lasc  time,'  one  passenger  came  on  board  weighing 
about  three  hundred,  and  the  boat  got  under  way. 

''  Let  go  that  hawser,"  shouted  the  captain  in  a 
voice  of  thunder.  Fe,  wee,  wee,  pish,  went  the  little 
steampipe,  and  we  were  off".  Our  track  lay  for  a  time 
down  the  Mississippi,  and  we  went  ahead  furiously, 
overhauled  two  rafts  and  a  flat-boat  within  two  hours, 
and  presented  the  appearance  of  a  real  big  steamer  most 
valiantly,  by  nearly  shaking  to  pieces  in  its  waves. 
The  two  light  passengers  got  along  very  well,  but  when- 
ever the  fat  passenger  got  off  a  line  with  the  centre  of 
the  cabin,  the  pilot  would  give  the  bell  one  tap,  and  the 
captain  would  bawl  out,  "  Trim  the  boat." 

Captain  Raft,  of  the  U.  S.  Mail  steamer  Emperor, 
it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  know,  was  one  of  those 


108         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

eccentric  men  that  had  a  singular  ambition  to  run  a 
boat  where  no  one  else  could — he  was  fond  of  being  a 
great  discoverer  on  a  small  scale.  In  one  of  his  eccen- 
tric humors,  Captain  Raft  run  the  Emperor  up  Red 
River,  as  the  pilot  observed,  about  "  a  feet,"  which  in 
the  southwest,  means  several  hundred  miles. 

Among  the  passengers  upon  that  occasion  was  old 
Zeb  Marston,  a  regular  out-and-outer  frontiersman,  who 
seemed  to  spend  his  whole  life  in  settling  out  of  the  way- 
places,  and  locating  his  family  in  sickly  situations.  Zeb 
was  the  first  man  that  "  blazed  "  a  tree  in  Eagle  Town, 
on  the  Mountain  Fork,  and  he  was  the  first  man  that  ever 
choked  an  alligator  to  death  with  his  hands,  on  the  Big 
Cossitot.  He  knew  every  snag,  sawyer,  nook  and  corner 
of  the  Sabine,  the  Upper  Red  River,  and  their  tributa- 
ries, and  when  "bar  whar  scace,"  he  was  wont  to  declare 
war  on  the  Cumanchos,  and,  for  excitement,  "  used  them 
up  terribly." 

But  to  our  stor}- — Zeb  moved  on  Red  River,  settled 
in  a  low,  swampy,  terrible  place,  and  he  took  it  as  a 
great  honor  that  the  Emperor  passed  his  cabin  ;  and,  at 
every  trip  the  boat  made,  there  was  tumbled  out  at  Zeb's 
yard  a  barrel  of  new  whiskey,  (as  regularly  as  she  passed,) 
for  which  was  paid  the  full  value  in  cord  wood. 

Now,  Captain  Raft  was  a  kind  man,  and  felt  disposed 
to  oblige  every  resident  that  lived  on  his  route  of  travel ; 
but  it  was  unprofitable  to  get  every  week  to  Zeb's  out- 
of theway  place,  and  as  he  landed  the  fifteenth  bai^el, 


STEAMERS    ON    THE    MlSSISSim.  109 

he  expressed  his  surprise  at  the  amount  of  whiskey  con- 
sumed at  his  "  settlement,"  and  hinted  it  was  rather  an 
unprofitable  business  for  the  boat.  Zeb,  at  this  piece 
of  information,  "  flared  up,"  raised  his  mane,  shut  his 
"  maulers,"  and  told  Captain  Raft  he  could  whip  him, — 
the  pilot,  and  deck  hands,  and  if  they  would  give  him 
the  advantage  of  the  "  under  grip,"  he  would  let  the  pis- 
ton-rod of  the  engine  punch  him  in  the  side  all  the  time 
the  fight  was  going  on. 

Haft,  at  this  display  of  fury  from  Zeb,  cooled  down 
immediately,  acknowledged  himself  "  snagged,"  begged 
Zeb's  pardon,  and  adjourned  to  the  bar  for  a  drink. 
One  glass  followed  another,  until  the  heroes  got  into 
the  mellow  mood,  and  Zeb,  on  such  occasions,  always 
"  went  it  strong  "  for  his  family.  After  praising  their 
beauty  individually  and  collectively,  he  broke  into  the 
pathetic,  and  set  the  Captain  crying,  by  the  following 
heartrending  appeal : — 

"  Raft,  Raft,  my  dear  fellow,  you  talk  about  the 
trouble  of  putting  out  a  barrel  of  whiskey  every  week 
at  my  diggins,  when  I  have  got  a  sick  wife,  and  five  small 
children,  and  no  coio  I — whar's  your  heart?" 

Dinner  in  due  course  of  time  was  announced — the 
table  was  covered  with  the  largest  roast  beef,  the  largest 
potatoes,  and  the  largest  carving-knife  and  fork  that 
ever  floated,  and  the  steward  rang  the  largest  bell  for 
dinner,  and  longer  than  any  other  steward  would  have 
done,  and  the  captain  talked  about  the  immense  extent 


110         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

of  the  Mississippi,  the  contemplated  canal  through  the 
Isthmus  of  Darien,  and  the  ability  of  the  steam  war- 
ships ;  he  saidj  that  in  the  contemplation  of  the  subject, 
"  his  feelings  war  propelled  by  five  hundred  horse- 
power— that  the  bows  of  his  imagination  cut  through 
the  muddy  waters  of  reality — that  the  practicabilit}^  of 
his  notions  was  as  certain  as  a  rudder  in  giving  the  pro- 
per direction — that  his  judgment,  like  a  safety-valve  to 
his  mind,  would  always  keep  him  from  advocating  any 
thing  that  would  burst  up,  and  that  it  was  unfortunate 
that  Robert  Fulton  had  not  lived  to  be  President  of  the 
United  States." 

With  such  enlarged  ideas  he  wiled  away  the  hours 
of  dinner  ; — arriving  at  the  mouth  of  "  Dry  Outlet  "  (a 
little  ditch  that  draws  off  some  of  the  waters  of  the 
Mississippi  when  very  high),  the  pilot  turned  the  bows 
of  the  "  Emperor  "  into  its  mouth,  and  shot  down, 
along  with  an  empty  flour  barrel,  with  an  alacrity  that 
sent  the  bows  of  the  boat  high  and  dry  on  land,  the  first 
bend  it  came  to. 

A  great  deal  of  hard  work  got  it  off,  an'd  away  the 
steamer  went  again,  at  one  time  sideways,  at  another 
every  way,  hitting  against  the  soft  alluvial  banks,  or 
brushing  the  pipes  among  the  branches  of  overhanging 
trees.  Finally  the  current  got  too  strong,  and  carried 
it  along  with  alarming  velocity.  The  bows  of  the  boat 
were  turned  up  stream,  and  thus  managed  to  keep  an 
onward  progress  compatible  with  safety. 


STEAMERS    ON    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  I  I  I 

The  banks  of  the  "  dry  outlet ''  were  very  low  and  very 
swampy,  and  were  disfigured  occasionally  by  wretched 
cabins,  in  which  lived  human  beings,  who,  the  captain 
of  the  "  Emperor  "  informed  us,  lived,  as  far  as  he  could 
judge,  by  sitting  upon  the  head  of  a  barrel  and  looking 
out  on  the  landscape,  and  at  his  boat  as  it  passed.  From 
the  fact  that  they  had  no  arable  land,  and  looked  like 
creatures  fed  on  unhealthy  air,  we  presume  that  was 
their  only  occupation. 

In  time  we  arrived  at  the  "  small  village,"  the  des- 
tination of  the  -'mail  pouch;"  ''the  passengers"  landed 
and  visited  the  town.  It  was  one  of  the  ruins  of  a 
great  city,  dreamed  of  by  land  speculators  in  "glorious 
times."  Several  splendidly-conceived  mansions  were 
decaying  about  in  the  half-finished  frames  that  were 
strewn  upon  the  ground.  A  barrel  of  whiskey  was 
rolled  ashore,  the  mail  delivered,  the  fat  man  got  out, 
and  the  steamer  was  again  under  way. 

The  "  dry  outlet "  immerged  into  a  broad  inland 
lake,  which  itself,  with  a  peculiarity  of  the  tributaries 
of  the  Mississippi,  emptied  into  that  river.  Our  little 
boat  plunged  on,  keeping  up  with  untiring  consistency 
all  its  original  pretensions  and  puflSng,  and  the  same 
clanking  of  tiny  machinery,  scaring  the  wild  ducks  and 
geese,  scattering  the  white  cranes  over  our  heads,  and 
making  the  cormorant  screech  with  astonishment  in 
hoarser  tones  than  the  engine  itself. 

Occasionally  we  would  land  at  a  "  st^uatter's  settle- 


112         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

ment,"  turn  round  and  come  up  to  the  banks  with 
grandeur,  astonishing  the  squatter's  children,  and  the 
invalid  hens  that  lived  in  the  front  yard.  The  captain 
would  pay  up  the  bill  for  the  wood,  and  off  he  would  go 
again  as  "  big  as  all  out  doors,"  and  a  great  deal  more 
natural.  Thus  we  struggled  on,  until,  sailing  up  a  stream 
with  incessant  labor,  such  as  we  went  down  when  we 
commenced  our  sketch,  we  emerged  into  the  world  of 
water  that  flows  in  the  Mississippi.  Down  the  rapid 
current  we  gracefully  swept,  very  much  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  permanent  inhabitants  on  its  banks. 

Again  for  the  "  innumerable  time,"  the  "  furnaces  " 
consumed  the  wood,  and  as  it  had  to  be  replenished,  we 
ran  alongside  one  of  those  immense  wood-yards,  so  pecu- 
liar to  the  Mississippi,  where  lay,  in  one  continuous  pile, 
thousands  of  cords  of  wood.  The  captain  of  the  "  Em- 
peror," as  he  stopped  his  boat  before  it,  hollowed  out 
from  his  upper  deck,  in  a  voice  of  the  loudest  tone — 
"  Grot  any  wood  here  ?  " 

Now  the  owner  of  the  wood-yard,  who  was  a  very 
rich  man,  and  a  very  surly  one,  looked  on  the  "pile,"  and 
said  "  he  thought  it  possible.'''' 

"  Then,"  said  the  captain,  "  how  do  you  sell  it  a 
cord  ?  " 

The  woodman  eyed  the  boat  and  its  crew;  and  eyed 
the  passengers,  and  then  said,  "  he  would  not  sell  the 
boat  any  wood,  but  the  crew  might  come  ashore  and 
get  their  hats  full  of  chips  for  nothing.'''' 


STEAMERS    ON    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  113 

Hereupon  the  five  hundred  horse  power  u  the  cap- 
tain's feelings,  and  the  rudder  and  the  safety-  ralves  of  liis 
well-reguhited  mind,  became,  surcharged  with  wnith,  and 
he  vented  out  abuse  on  the  wood-yard  and  its  owner, 
which  was  expressed  in  "  thoughts  that  breathe  and 
words  that  burn." 

A  distant  large  boat,  breasting  the  current  like  ii 
thing  of  life,  at  this  moment  coming  in  sight,  gave  us 
a  hint,  and  rushing  ashore  amid  the  "  wrath,"  we  bid 
the  •'  Emperor  "  and  its  enraged  captain  a  hearty  good- 
bye, and  in  a  few  moments  more  we  dwindled  into  insig- 
nificance on  board  of  the  magnificent  ,  the  pride 

and  wonder  of  the  Western  waters. 


FAMILIAR  SCENES  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

As  our  magnificent  Union  has  increased  in  popula- 
tion, the  aborigines  within  the  "  older  States  "  have  be- 
come constantly  more  and  more  degraded.  "  The  Grov- 
ernment,"  as  the  most  merciful  policy,  has  taxed  its 
energies  to  remove  these  red  men  from  the  viciuit}-  of 
civilization,  to  homes  still  wild  and  primitive,  west  of 
the  Mississippi.  There,  a  vast  extent  of  country  is  still 
unoccupied,  in  which  he  can  pursue,  comparatively  unre- 
strained, his  inclinations,  and  pluck  a  few  more  days  of 
happiness  before  his  sun  entirel}-  sets. 

Occasionally  may  be  seen  in  the  southwest,  a  large 
body  of  these  people,  under  the  charge  of  a  "  govern- 
ment officer,"  going  to  the  new  homes  provided  for  them 
by  their  "white  father."  These  "  removals  ■'  are  always 
melancholy  exhibitions.  The  Indians,  dispirited  and 
heart-broken,  entirely  hopeless  of  the  future,  with  dog- 


FAMILIAR    SCENES    OX    THE    MlSSISSim.  115 

ged  looks  submit  to  every  privation  tliat  is  imposed  on 
them,  and  appear  equally  indifferent  as  to  the  receipt  of 
favors.  Tlirowing  aside  every  mark  of  etiquette  anjong 
themselves,  the  chief,  who,  when  among  their  native 
haunts,  is  almost  a  sacred  person,  lies  down  or  takes 
his  food,  promiscuously  with  the  noblest  or  most  de- 
graded of  his  people  ;  all  distinctions  of  age  as  well  as 
caste,  are  thrown  aside,  and  the  Indians  seem  a  mere 
mass  of  degraded  humanity,  with  less  apparent  capa- 
bility of  self-preservation  than  the  brute. 

Some  two  or  three  years  ago,  we  took  passage  on 
board  a  boat  bound  from  New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis, 
which  boat  the  government  had  engaged  to  carry  as  far 
.:|^D>wards  their  place  of  destination  as  practicable,  near 
four  hundred  Seminoles,  who,  with  their  chiefs,  had 
agreed  to  emigrate  west  of  the  Missi.'^sippi. 

We  were  not  particularly  pleased  with  our  numerous 
and  novel  passengers,  but  the  lateness  of  the  season  les- 
sened the  chances  of  getting  a  conveyance,  and  as  most  of 
the  Indians  were  to  remain  in  a  tender,  lashed  to  the  side 
of  the  steamer,  we  concluded  that  a  study  of  their  man- 
ners and  habits  would  beguile  away  the  time  of  a  long 
trip,  and  thus  pay  us  for  the  inconveniences  we  might 
be  put  to.  Unfortunately,  the  novelty  of  our  situation 
too  soon  passed  away. 

The  Indians,  who  on  first  acijuaintanee  kept  up  a  lit- 
tle display  of  their  original  character,  gradually  relapsed 
into  wliat  appeared  to   be   a   mere  vegetable    existence. 


K^JJMli 


116  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

and  slept  through  the  entire  twenty-four  hours  of  the 
day.  Of  all  the  remarkable  traits  of  character  that  dig- 
nify them  in  history,  we  could  not  discern  the  least 
trace  ;  yet  among  the  brutal,  insensible  savages  at  our 
feet,  were  many  daring  spirits,  who  had  displayed  in 
their  warfare  with  the  whites,  dangerous  talents,  and 
taken  many  a  bloody  scalp.  The  girls  were  possessed 
of  little  or  no  personal  charms,  while  the  women,  the  la- 
borers of  the  tribe,  were  as  hideous  as  any  hags  that  can 
be  imagined. 

The  heat  of  the  weather  and  the  confinement  of  the 
boat,  had  a  dreadful  effect  upon  these  poor  wretches  ; 
sickness  rapidly  broke  out  among  them,  and  as  they 
stoutly  refused  to  take  the  white  man's  medicine,  their 
chances  of  recovery  were  poor  indeed. 

The  tender  was  turned  into  a  perfect  lazar-house, 
and  nothing  could  be  seen  but  the  affecting  attentions 
of  the  old  squaws  to  their  friends  and  relatives,  as  they 
wasted  away  before  their  eyes.  The  infant  and  patri- 
arch were  side  by  side,  consuming  with  slow  fever,  while 
the  corpse  of  some  middle-aged  person  lay  at  their  feet, 
waiting  for  the  funeral  rites  and  the  obscurity  of  the 
grave.  Vain  were  the  prescriptions  of  the  "  medicine 
man  "  of  their  tribe ;  he  blew  his  breath  through  a  gaudy 
colored  reed  upon  the  faces  of  his  patients,  and  recited 
his  incantations,  but  without  success.  He  disfigured  his 
person  with  new  paint,  and  altered  his  devices  daily,  still 
his  patients  would  die,  and  at  every  landing  where  the 


FAMILIAR    SCENES    ON    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  117 

boat  stopped,  some  poor  Indian  was  taken  ashore  and 
hastily  buried. 

No  one  mourned  over  the  corp.«e  but  the  females, 
and  they  only  when  intimately  related  to  the  deceased. 
The  father,  son,  or  husband,  as  they  saw  their  relntives 
falling  around  them,  scarce  turned  their  eyes  upon  the 
dead,  and  if  they  did,  it  was  only  to  exclaim  in  guttural 
accents,  "  Ugh  !  ''  and  then  turn  away  to  sleep. 

Not  an  article  belonging  to  the  dead  but  was  wrap- 
ped up  with  it,  or  placed  in  the  coffin ;  the  infant  and 
its  playthings,  the  young  girl  and  her  presents,  the 
S(|uaw  with  her  domestic  utensils,  and  the  ''  brave''  with 
his  gun  and  whatever  property  there  was  in  his  pos- 
session. A  beautiful  custom,  indeed — and  one  that 
brings  no  crocodile  tears  to  the  eyes  of  the  living  heir, 
and  gives  the  lawyer  no  chance  for  litigation. 

Among  those  who  died,  was  one  old  veteran  warrior 
who  had  particularly  attracted  our  attention  by  his 
severe  looks  and  loneliness  of  habit,  and  we  watched 
attentively  his  exit  from  the  world.  He  seemed,  as 
near  as  we  could  judge,  to  have  no  relatives  about  him ; 
no  one  noticed  him  but  the  doctor,  who  was  markedly 
attentive.  The  old  man  was  a  chief,  and  the  scars  that 
covered  his  body  told  of  many  a  dreadful  encounter  with 
man  and  beast.  His  huge  skeleton,  as  he  moved  about 
in  his  ill-concealed  agony,  looked  like  the  remains  of  a 
giant,  exaggerated  by  its  want  of  flesh.  His  hands 
were  small,  and  of  feminine  delicacy — occasionally  he 


118         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

would  move  them  about  in  mute  eloquence,  then  clutch 
at  the  air,  as  if  in  pursuit  of  an  enemy,  and  fall  back 
exhausted. 

Recovering  from  one  of  these  fits,  he  tried  to  stand, 
but  found  it  impossible ;  he,  however,  raised  himself 
upon  his  elbow,  and  opening  his  eyes  for  the  first  time 
in  a  long  while,  stared  wildly  about  him.  The  sun,  which 
was  at  this  time  low  in  the  west,  shone  full  upon  him — 
his  smooth  skin  glistened  like  burnished  copper — his 
long-neglected  hair,  of  silvery  whiteness,  hung  over  his 
head  and  face,  while  the  scalp-lock  displayed  itself  by  its 
immense  length,  as  it  reached  his  shoulder.  His  muscles, 
shrunken  by  age  and  disease,  moved  like  cords  in  per- 
forming their  offices. 

A  smile  lit  up  his  features — his  lips  moved — and  he 
essayed  to  speak.  A  faint  chant  was  heard — the  doctor, 
at  the  sound,  bent  his  head,  and  assumed  an  air  of  rev- 
erence. The  chant,  as  it  continued  to  swell  on  the  even- 
ing breeze,  reached  the  ears  of  the  slumbering  warriors 
that  lay  about,  and  as  they  listened  to  the  sounds,  I 
could  discern  their  sottish  eyes  open  and  flash  with  un- 
earthly fires ;  sometimes  exhibiting  pleasure,  but  oftener 
ferocity  and  hatred.  The  old  man  sang  on,  a  few  raised 
to  their  feet,  and  waved  their  hands  in  the  air,  as  if  keep- 
ing time,  and  occasionally  some  aged  Indian  would  re- 
peat the  sounds  he  heard.  The  old  man  ceased,  turned 
his  face  full  to  the  setting  sun,  and  fell  back  a  corpse. 
The   Indians   cast  a  look  in  the  direction  of  tlieir 


FAMILIAR    SCENES    O.N    THE    MISSISSiTn.  1  19 

homes,  gave  an  expression  of  nialignit}',  as  well  as  sor- 
row, and  then  silently  and  sluggishly  sank  into  roposo. 
as  if  nothing  unusual  had  occurred. 

"  That  old  fellow  brags  well  of  his  infernal  deeds," 
observed  one  of  the  white  men  accompanying  the  In- 
dians, "  and  the  red-skinned  devils  about  here  drink  it 
in  as  a  Cuba  hound  would  blood." 

The  intense  heat  of  the  weather,  and  the  quietness 
that  reigned*  so  profoundly  among  the  Indians,  broken 
only  by  the  saw  and  hammer  of  the  carpenter  making 
coflBns  at  the  capstan,  made  us  sigh  for  a  landing-place, 
and  a  separation  from  such  melancholy  scenes.  This 
desire  was  encouraged  from  the  well-known  fact,  that 
the  savages  grew  every  hour  more  troublesome,  and  the 
song  of  the  dying  old  chief  had  neither  allayed  their 
feelings,  nor  made  them  more  contented. 


The  morning  following  the  death  of  the  old  chief 
had  been  preceded  by  one  of  those  nights  in  which  the 
fog  rose  from  the  water  so  thick,  that,  in  the  hyperboli- 
cal language  of  the  boatman,  you  could  make  feather- 
beds  of  it.  The  pilot  had  "  felt  his  way  along "  for 
many  hours,  until  the  sudden  crash  that  shook  every 
thing  in  the  boat,  convinced  us  that  we  were  aground. 
The  engine  stopped,  and  left  us  in  perfect  silence  and 
obscurity. 

Long  after  our  accustomed  hour  of  rising,  we  went 


3]S!T/r«.v  V^  v#  ijj^ 


'#  •  ••  • 


120  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

on  deck.  The  fresh  mist  blew  in  our  faces  with  sicken- 
ing eifect,  and  the  sun — then  two  hours  high — was  invis- 
ible. The  shore,  which  was  so  near  that  the  breaking  of 
twigs  could  be  heard,  as  cattle,  or  game  moved  about  on 
it,  was  indiscernible.  Even  the  end  of  the  boat  opposite 
to  the  one  on  which  we  stood  was  invisible.  A  deep, 
damp,  opaque  Mississippi  river  fog,  had  swallowed  us 
up. 

As  the  sun  continued  to  rise  and  gain  strength  in 
its  ascent,  its  rays  penetrated  through  the  gloom,  and 
we  at  last  discovered  it,  working  its  way  through  the 
fog  by  its  rays,  reaching  them  out  as  a  debilitated  spider 
would  his  legs,  and  apparently  with  the  same  caution 
and  labor. 

With  the  growing  heat  a  gentle  breeze  sprang  up, 
and  the  fog  rolled  about  in  huge  masses,  leaving  spots 
of  pure  atmosphere,  and  then  closing  them  up  ;  gradu- 
ally the  air  became  more  and  more  rarefied,  and  things 
at  a  distance  began  to  appear  all  magnified  and  myste- 
rious. 

On  came  the  sun,  brightening  and  enlarging,  until 
his  streaming  rays  dipped  into  the  water,  and  shot  up  to 
the  zenith. 

The  fog,  no  longer  able  to  keep  its  consistency,  re- 
tired before  its  splendor  in  little  clouds,  which  would 
sometimes  rally,  and  spread  over  the  surface  of  the 
river,  then,  breaking  asunder,  vanish  away  into  air,  with 
a  splendor  that  rivalled  the  dying  dolphin's  tints. 


FAMILIAR    SCENES    OX    THE    MlPSISSim.  1 '2  1 

Now,  for  the  first  time,  could  we  learn  our  where- 
ahouts.  The  broad  bosom  of  the  Mississippi  stretched 
far  to  the  front  of  us,  while  at  the  stern  of  our  boat  was 
one  of  those  abrupt  banks  that  denote  a  sudden  bend  in 
the  river.  This  had  deceived  the  pilot.  On  our  right, 
within  a  few  hundred  yards,  lay  the  shore,  lined  with 
huge  trees,  tangled  with  gigantic  vines,  and  waving  with 
festoons  of  moss,  giving  them  a  sombre  appearance,  that 
was  singular  and  repulsive.  Wild  ducks  and  geese 
went  screaming  by,  heron  and  crane  innumerable  would 
come  near  us,  but  discovering  the  dark  form  of  our  boat, 
%  precipitately  away. 

The  water  glistened  in  the  sun,  and  there  would  rise 
from  its  quiet  surface  little  columns  of  mist,  that  would 
ascend  high  in  the  air,  or  sail  along  on  the  surface  of 
the  water,  until  striking  the  distant  shore,  they  rolled 
over  the  landscape,  enveloping  parts  in  momentary  ob- 
scurity,— and  it  was  not  until  near  noon  that  the  fog 
entirely  disappeared.  Then  the  sun,  as  if  incensed  with 
the  veil  that  had  for  a  time  kept  it  from  its  scorchintr 
work,  poured  down  its  heat  with  more  intensity,  leaving 
a  foggy  day,  hotter  before  its  close,  than  if  the  sun  had 
been  unobscured  in  its  appearance  in  the  morn. 

"While  sitting  in  the  cabin,  congratulating  ourselves 

on  the  prospect  of  getting  oflf  the  sand-bar,  on  which  we 

had  so  long  been  detained,  the  report  of  a  rifle  was  heard, 

fired  from  the  deck,  accompanied  by  a  yell. 

Another    rifle   was    discharged,  and  a  loud   Indian 
G 


122  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTEIl. 

whoop  followed,  that  made  our  blood  run  cold.  The  la- 
dies present  turned  pale,  and  the  commanding  officer 
who  had  charge  of  the  Indians,  somewhat  astonished,  left 
the  cabin. 

A  momentary  alarm  seized  upon  us  all.  Could  the 
old  warrior's  death-song  have  incited  mutiny  !— Crack  ! 
went  another  rifle  outside, — and  another  shout; — we 
could  stand  it  no  longer,  but  rushed  on  deck. 

What  a  scene  !  Not  an  Indian  that  was  able,  but 
was  upon  his  feet,  his  eyes  sparkling  with  fire,  and  his 
form  looking  as  active  as  a  panther's.  The  sluggards 
of  yesterday  were  sleek  and  nervous  as  horses  at  the 
starting  post,  so  perfectly  h|d  a  little  excitement  altered 
them.  Their  rifles,  however,  thank  Heaven,  were  not 
turned  upon  the  white  man — their  enemy  was  between 
the  boat  and  the  shore — in  the  water — in  the  form  of  a 
very  large  black  bear. 

It  was  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  the  savage  springing 
with  a  graceful  bound,  on  some  high  place  in  the  boat ; 
and  raise  his  rifle  to  his  eye, ; — before  the  report  was 
heard  you  could  mark  a  red  furrow  on  the  head  of  the 
bear,  where  it  was  struck  by  the  ball  as  it  passed  its 
way  through  the  skin  and  flesh  without  entering  the 
bone,  while  the  bear,  at  these  assaults,  would  throw  him- 
self half  out  of  the  water,  brush  over  the  smarting 
wound  with  his  huge  paw,  and  then  dash  on  for  life. 
Another  shot,  and  another  yell  brought  the  bear  on  the 
defensive,  and  showed  that  ho  wa^;  dangerously  wounded. 


FAMILIAR    SCtlNES    OX    THE    MlSSlsim.  l'^3 

While  this  firing  was  going  on,  some  Indians,  armed 
only  with  knives,  hiunehcd  a  canoe  that  lay  among  their 
movables,  and  paddled  hurriedly  out  to  the  bear.  No 
sooner  was  the  canoe^  within  the  bear's  reach  than  he  put 
his  huge  paws  on  its  side,  and  in  spite  of  the  thrusts  aimed 
at  his  head,  turned  his  enemies  with  a  somerset  into  the 
water.  Loud  shouts  of  laughter  greeted  this  accident ; 
the  little  "  papooses  "  and  women  fairly  danced  with  joy, 
while  the  crew  yelled  and  shouted  at  the  sport,  as  much 
as  the  savages  themselves. 

The  bear  turned  from  the  boat  and  looked  for  his 
victims,  but  they  were  not  to  be  seen ;  precipitated  so 
suddenly  into  the  water,  they  sank  below  the  surface 
like  the  duck  when  much  alarmed,  and  then  thrust  out 
their  shining  polls  ftir  from  the  friendly  hug  of  the 
bear. 

Laying  their  plans  of  attack  at  once  (for  the  firing 
of  rifles  was  suspended),  one  of  the  Indians  attracted 
the  bear's  attention,  and  made  towards  him  ;  they  met, 
the  floating  canoe  only  between  them,  and  while  thus  skir- 
mishing, an  unoccupied  Indian  came  up  behind  the  bear, 
raised  his  knife,  and  drove  it  deeply  into  his  side,  and 
thcji  disappeared  beneath  the  surface.  The  bear  turned 
in  the  direction  of  this  new  attack,  snapped  and  clawed 
in  the  water  in  the  greatest  agony.  Another  stab  was 
given  in  the  same  way,  and  as  the  Indian  again  disap- 
peared, a  "  white  hunter,''  who  had  been  heretofore  an 
uninterested  spectator,  sprang  upon  the   guards  of  the 


124         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

"boat,  and  singing  out  "  red  devils,  look  out  below," 
fired.  The  bear  leaped  entirely  out  of  the  water,  fell 
upon  his  back,  and  after  a  convulsive  kick  or  two,  float- 
ed lifelessly  upon  the  water. 

This  exploit  of  the  white  man,  so  sudden  and  unex- 
pected, was  greeted  by  a  loud  shout  from  all  parties. 

'  You  see,"  said  the  hunter,  as  he  coolly  laid  down 
his  rifle — "  you  see  the  bear  has  a  feeling,  strangers,  and 
whar  is  the  use  in  tormenting  the  varmint  ?  my  old 
shooting  iron  never  misses,  but  if  it  had  hit  a  red-skin 
by  accident,  I  should  not  have  been  ashamed  of  the  shot 
— for  the  bear  is  the  best  Christian  of  the  two,  and  a 
parfect  gentleman,  compared  with  the  best  copper-skin 
that  ever  breathed." 

The  Indians  in  the  water  at  the  last  shot  expressed 
a  significant  "  ugh,"  and  approaching  the  bear,  gave  him 
repeated  thrusts  with  their  knives,  which  showed  that 
they  thought  him  a  hard-lived  and  dangerous  animal. 
In  a  few  minutes  they  recovered  their  canoe,  and  were 
towing  the  dead  carcass  ashore. 

Fifty' Indians  at  least  now  threw  their  blankets  aside, 
and  leaping  into  the  water,  swam  after  the  bear.  The 
tearing  off  of  the  huge  skin,  and  jerking  the  meat,  was 
dispatched  so  rapidly,  that  it  indicated  an  accustomed 
work. 

This  little  incident  relieved  the  monotony,  of  all 
others  the  most  disagreeable — that  of  being  aground  in 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  hours  of  labor  which  were  spent 


FAMILIAR    SCENES    ON    THE    MIS<ISSIPri.  125 

in  relcasiiiL'  the  Imat,  passed  (luickly  away,  and  Ity  the 
time  the  Indians  returned  to  their  friends  in  tlie  tender, 
the  bell  sounded  ; — we  moved  : — and  the  steamer  again 
gallantly  bore  us  toward  our  place  of  destination. 


A  STOKM  SCENE  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

In  the  year  18 — ,  we  found  ourselves  travelling  on  horse- 
back, "low  down  on  the  Mississippi."  The  weather  was 
intensely  hot,  and  as  we  threaded  our  way  through  the 
forests  and  swamps,  through  which  the  river  flows,  a 
silent  and  stifled  atmosphere  prevailed,  such  as  required 
little  wisdom  to  predict  as  the  forerunner  of  a  storm. 

The  insects  of  the  woods  were  more  than  usually 
troublesome  and  venomous.  The  locust  would  occasion- 
ally make  its  shrill  sounds  as  on  a  merry  day,  then  sud- 
denly stop,  give  a  disquiet  chirp  or  two,  and  relapse  into 
silence.  The  venomous  mosquito,  revelled  in  the  damp- 
ness of  the  air,  and  suspending  its  clamor  of  distant 
trumpets,  seemed  only  intent  to  bite.  The  crows  scold- 
ed like  unquiet  housewives,  high  in  the  air,  while  higher 
still  the  buzzard  wheeled  in  graceful  but  narrowed 
circles. 

The  dried  twigs  in  our  path  bent,  instead  of  snap- 
ping, as  the  weight  of  our  horses'  hoofs  pressed  upon 


STORM    SCEXE    ON    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  127 

them,  while  the  animal  Nvoukl  put  forward  his  ears,  as 
if  expecting  soon  to  be  very  juuch  alarmed ;  and  lastly, 
to  make  all  those  signs  certain,  the  rheumatic  limbs  of 
an  old  Indian  guide,  who  accompanied  us,  suddenly  grew 
lame,  for  he  went  limping  upon  his  delicately  formed 
feet,  and  occasionally  looking  aloft  with  suspicious  eyes, 
he  proclaimed,  that  there  would  be  "  storm  too  much !  " 

A  storm  in  the  forest  is  no  trifling  affair ;  the  tree 
under  which  you  shelter  yourself  may  draw  the  light- 
ning upon  your  head,  or  its  ponderous  limbs,  pressed 
upon  by  the  winds,  drag  the  heavy  trunk  to  the  earth, 
crushing  you  with  itself  in  its  fall ;  or  some  dead  branch 
that  has  for  years  protruded  from  among  the  green 
foliage,  may  on  the  very  occasion  of  your  presence,  fall 
to  the  ground  and  destroy  you. 

The  rain  too,  which  in  the  forest  finds  difficulty  in 
soaking  into  the  earth,  will  in  a  few  hours  fill  up  the 
ravines  and  water-courses,  wash  away  the  trail  you  may 
be  following,  or  destroy  the  road  over  which  you 
journey. 

All  these  things  we  were  from  experience  aware  of, 
and  as  we  were  some  distance  from  our  journey's  end, 
and  also  from  any  "  settlement,"  we  pressed  forward  to 
a  "  clearing,"  which  was  in  our  path,  as  a  temporary 
stopping-place,  until  the  coming  storm  should  have 
pas.sed  away. 

Our  resting-place  for  the  niglit  wa.s  on  tiic  banks  of 
the  Mississippi;  it  consisted  of  a  rude  cabin  in  the  cen- 


128         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

tre  of  a  small  garden-spot  and  iSeld,  and  had  once  been 
the  residence  of  a  squatter — but  now  deserted  for  causes 
unknown  to  us.  The  cabin  Avas  most  pleasantly  situated, 
and  commanded  a  fine  view  of  the  river  both  up  and 
down  its  channel. 

We  reached  this  rude  dwelling  just  as  the  sun  was 
setting,  and  his  disappearance  behind  the  lowlands  of 
the  Mississippi,  was  indeed  glorious.  Refracted  by  the 
humidity  of  the  atmosphere  into  a  vast  globe  of  fire,  it 
seemed  to  be  kindling  up  the  Cypress  trees  that 'stretched 
out  before  us,  into  a  light  blaze,  while  the  gathering 
clouds  extended  the  conflagration  far  north  and  south, 
and  carried  it  upwards  into  the  heavens.  Indeed,  so 
glorious  for  a  moment  was  the  sight,  that  we  almost 
fancied  that  another  Phagton  was  driving  the  chariot  of 
the  Sun,  and  that  in  its  ungoverned  course,  its  wheels 
were  fired  ;  and  the  illusion  was  quite  complete,  when  we 
heard  the  distant  thunder  echoing  from  those  brilliant 
clouds,  and  saw  the  lightning,  like  silver  arrows,  flash 
across  the  crimson  heavens. 

A  moment  more,  and  the  sun  was  extinguished  in 
the  waters — all  light  disappeared,  and  the  sudden  dark- 
ness that  follows  sunset  as  you  approach  the  tropics, 
was  upon  us. 

With  the  delightful  consciousness  of  having  already 
escaped  the  storm,  we  gathered  round  a  pleasant  blaze 
formed  of  dried  twigs,  kindled  by  flashing  powder  in  the 
pan  of  an   old-fashioned   gun.     In  the  meantime,  the 


8TORM    SCENE    ON    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  129 

thunder  grew  more  and  more  distinct,  the  lightning 
flashed  more  brightly,  tind  an  occasional  gust  of  wind, 
accompanied  by  sleet,  would  penetrate  between  the  logs 
that  composed  our  shelter. 

An  old  wood-chopper,  who  made  one  of  our  party, 
feeling  unusually  comfortable,  grew  loquacious ;  and  he 
detailed  with  great  efi'ect  the  woeful  scenes  he  had  been 
in  at  diflferent  times  of  his  life,  the  most  awful  of  which 
had  been  preceded,  he  said,  by  just  such  signs  of  weather 
as  were  then  exhibiting  themselves. 

Among  other  adventures,  he  had  been  wrecked  while 
acting  as  a  "  hand  "  on  a  flat-boat  navigating  the  Mis- 
sissippi. 

He  said  he  had  come  all  the  way  from  Pittsburgh, 
at  the  head  of  the  Ohio,  to  within  two  or  three  hundred 
miles  of  Orleans,  without  meeting  with  any  other  serious 
accident,  than  that  of  getting  out  of  whiskey  twice. 

But  one  night  the  captain  of  the  flat-boat  said  that 
the  weather  was  "  crafty,"  a  thing  he  thought  himself,  as 
it  was  most  too  quiet  to  last  long. 

After  detailing  several  other  particulars,  he  finished 
his  story  of  being  wrecked,  as  follows  :  "  The  quiet 
weather  I  spoke  of,  was  followed  by  a  sudden  change ; 
th^  river  grew  as  rough  as  an  alligator's  back ;  thar  was 
the  tallest  kind  of  a  noise  overhead,  and  the  fire  flew 
about  up  thar,  like  fur  in  a  cat-fight. 

"  '  We'll  put  in  shore,'  said  the  captain  ;  and  we  tried 
to  do  it,  that's  sartaln  :   but  tlu?  way  in  which  we  always 


130         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

walked  off  from  a  tree,  whar  we  might  have  tied  up,  was 
a  caution  to  steamboats. 

" '  Keep  the  current,'  said  the  captain,  '  and  let  us 
sweat  it  out.'  We  went  on  this  way  some  time,  when  I 
told  the  captain — said  I,  Captain,  I  have  never  been  in 
these  diggins  afore,  but  if  I  haven't  seen  the  same  land- 
scape three  times,  then  I  can't  speak  the  truth. 

"  At  this  the  captain  looked  hard,  and  swore  that  we 
were  in  an  eddy,  and  doing  nothing  but  whirling  round. 

'•  The  lightning  just  at  this  time  was  very  accommo- 
dating, and  showed  us  a  big  tree  in  the  river  that  had 
stuck  fast,  and  was  bowing  up  and  down,  ready  to  re- 
ceive us,  and  we  found  ourselves  rushing  straight  on 
to  it. 

"  The  owner  of  the  bacon  and  other  '  plunder,'  with 
which  the  boat  was  loaded,  was  on  board, — and  when 
he  saw  the  '  sawyer,'  he  eyed  it  as  hard  as  a  small  thief 
would  a  constable ;  says  he,  '  Captain,  if  that  ar  fellow 
at  the  sweep  (oar)  (fellow  meant  me)'  said  he  '  Captain, 
if  that  ar  fellow  at  the  sweep  don't  bear  on  harder,  and 
keep  us  off  that  tree,  I  am  a  busted-up  pork  merchant.' 
I  did  bear  on  it  as  well  as  I  could,  but  the  current  was 
too  strong,  and  we  went  on  the  '  sawyer '  all  standing. 
The  boat  broke  up  like  a  dried  leaf;  pork  and  plunder 
scattered,  and  I  swam,  half  dead,  to  the  shore. 

"  I  lost  in  the  whole  operation  just  two  shirts,  eighteen 
dollars  in  wages,  and  half  a  box  of  Kaintucky  tobacker, 
besides  two  game  cocks. 


STORM    SCENE    ON    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  131 

"  I  tell  you  what,  stranger,  a  storm  on  that  ar  Mis- 
sissipp  ain't  to  be  sneezed  at." 

The  wood-chopper's  story,  when  concluded,  would 
have  occasioned  a  general  laugh,  had  there  not  been 
outside  our  cabin  at  this  moment  a  portentous  silence, 
which  alarmed  us  all. 

The  storm  we  thought  had  been  upon  us  in  all  its 
fury,  but  we  now  felt  that  more  was  to  come;  in  the 
midst  of  this  expectation  a  stream  of  fire  rushed  from 
the  horizon  upwards ;  where  high  over  head  could  be 
seen  its  zigzag  course,  then  rushed  downwards,  appa- 
rently almost  at  our  very  feet, — a  few  hundred  yards  from 
us  a  tall  oak  dropped  some  of  its  gigantic  limbs,  and  flash- 
ed into  a  light  blaze.  The  rain,  however  powerful  pre- 
viously, now  descended  in  one  continued  sheet.  The 
roof  of  our  shelter  seemed  to  gather  water  rather  than 
to  protect  us  from  it ;  little  rivulets  dashed  across  the 
floor,  and  then  widening  into  streams,  we  were  soon  lite- 
rally afloat.  The  descending  floods  sounded  about  us 
like  the  roll-call  of  a  muffled  drum,  the  noise  almost 
deafening  us,  then  dying  off  in  the  distance,  as  the 
sweeping  gusts  of  wind  drove  the  clouds  before  them. 
The  burning  forest  meanwhile  hissed  and  cracked,  and 
rolled  up  great  columns  of  steam. 

The  turbid  water  of  the  Mississippi  in  all  this  war 
of  the  elements,  rushed  on,  save  where  it  touched  its 
banks,  with  a  smooth  but  mysterious  looking  surface 
that  resembled  in  the  glare  of  the  lightning,  a  mirror  of 


132  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

bronze,  and  to  heighten  this  almost  unearthly  effect,  the 
forest  trees  that  lined  its  most  distant  shores,  rose  up 
like  mountains  of  impenetrable  darkness,  against  clouds 
burning  with  fire. 

The  thunder  cracked  and  echoed  through  the  hea- 
vens, and  the  half  starved  wolf,  nearly  dead  with  fear, 
mingled  his  cries  of  distress  with  the  noises  without, 
startling  us  with  the  momentary  conviction,  that  we 
heard  the  voices  of  men  in  the  agony  of  death. 

Hours  passed  away  and  the  elements  spent  their 
fury;  and  although  the  rain  continued  falling  in  tor- 
rents, it  was  finally  unaccompanied  with  lightning.  So 
sudden,  indeed,  were  the  extremes,  that  with  your  eyes 
dilating  with  the  glare  of  the  heavens,  you  were,  a  mo- 
ment after,  surrounded  by  the  most  perfect  darkness. 

Confused,  bewildered,  and  soaking  wet ;  we  followed 
the  stoical  example  of  our  Indian  guide,  and  settling 
down  in  a  crouching  attitude,  waited  most  impatiently 
for  the  light  of  the  morning. 

The  rain  continued  to  descend  in  gusts,  and  the  same 
deep  darkness  was  upon  us ;  my  companions  soon  fell 
asleep  as  soundly  as  if  they  were  at  home;  the  long 
drawn  respirations  added  to  my  misery.  Wound  up  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  impatience,  I  was  about  starting  to 
my  feet  to  utter  some  angry  complaint,  when  the  In- 
dian, whom  I  thought  in  a  profound  slumber,  touched 
me  upon  the  arm,  and  with  a  peculiar  sound,  signified 
that  I  must  be  silent  and  listen. 


STORiM    SCENE    ON    THE    MlSSISSim.  133 

This  I  did  do,  but  I  heard  nothing  save  the  cou- 
tinued  chittering  of  the  rain,  and  after  awhile  I  said  so. 

For  some  time  the  Indian  made  no  reply,  although 
I  was  conscious  that  he  was  intensely  interested  in  the 
prevailing  dull  sounds  without. 

Suddenly  he  sprang  upon  his  feet  and  groped  his 
way  to  the  door.  The  intrusive  noise  awoke  the  wood- 
chopper,  who  instantly  seizing  his  rifle,  sang  out : 

"  Ualloo,  what's  the  matter,  you  red  varmint,  snort- 
ing in  a  man's  face  like  a  scared  bufi^alo  bull,  what's 
the  matter  ?  " 

'^River  too  ncar^^^  was  the  slow  reply  of  the  Indian. 

"  He's  right,  so  help  me ,''  shouted  the  wood- 
chopper,  "  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  ar  caving  in," 
and  then  with  a  spring  he  leaped  through  the  door  and 
bid  us  follow. 

His  advice  was  quickly  obeyed.  The  Indian  was  the 
last  to  leave  the  cabiii^  and  as  he  stepped  from  its  thresh- 
old, the  weighty  unhewn  logs  that  composed  it,  crum- 
bled, along  with  the  rich  soil,  into  the  swift-running 
current  of  the  mysterious  river. 

This  narrow  escape  made  our  fortunes  somewhat 
bearable,  and  we  waited  with  some  little  patience 
for  day. 

At  the  proper  time  the  sun  rose  gloriously  bright, 
as  if  its  smiling  face  had  never  been  obscured  by  a 
cloud. 

The  little   birds  of  the  woods  sung  merrily,  there 


134         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

was  the  freshness  and  beauty  of  a  new  creation  on  every 
thing ;  and  the  landscape  of  the  previous  night  was  in- 
deed altered.  The  long  jutting  point  where  stood  the 
squatter's  hut  and  "  clearing,"  had  disappeared — house, 
garden-spot,  fields,  and  fences,  were  obliterated ;  the 
water-washed  banks  were  lined  only  with  the  unbroken 
forest. 

The  stranger,  while  looking,  would  never  have 
dreamed  that  the  axe  and  the  plough  had  been  in  the 
vicinity. 

The  caving  banks  had  swept  away  all  signs  of  hu- 
manity, and  left  every  thing  about  us  in  wild  and  primi- 
tive solitude. 


GRIZZLY  BEAR-HUNTING. 

The  every-day  sports  of  the  wild  woods  include  many 
feats  of  daring  which  never  find  a  pen  of  record.  Con- 
stantly, in  the  haunts  of  the  savage,  are  being  enacted 
scenes  of  thrilling  interest,  the  very  details  of  which, 
would  make  the  denizen  of  enlightened  life  turn  away 
with  instinctive  dread. 

Every  Indian  tribe  has  its  heroes  ;  celebrated  re- 
spectively for  their  courage,  in  difi'erent  ways  exhibited. 
Some,  for  their  acuteness  in  pursuing  the  enemy  on  the 
war-path  ;  and  others,  for  the  destruction  they  have  ac- 
complished among  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest. 

A  great  hunter,  among  the  Indians,  is  a  marked  per- 
sonage. It  is  a  title  that  distinguishes  its  possessor 
among  his  people  as  a  prince ;  while  the  trophies  of 
exploits  in  which  he  has  been  engaged,  hang  about 
his  person  as  brilliantly  as  the  decorations  of  so  many 
orders. 


136         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

The  country  in  which  the  Osage  finds  a  home  pos- 
sesses abundantl}'  the  grizzly  bear,  an  animal  formidable 
beyond  any  other  inhabitant  of  the  North  American 
forests — an  animal  seemingly  insensible  to  pain,  uncer- 
tain in  its  habits,  and  by  its  mighty  strength  able  to 
overcome  any  living  obstacle  that  comes  within  its  reach, 
as  an  enemy.  The  Indian  warrior,  of  any  tribe,  among 
the  haunts  of  the -grizzly  bear,  finds  no  necklace  so  hon- 
orable to  be  worn  as  one  formed  of  the  claws  of  this 
gigantic  animal,  slain  by  hLs  own  prowess ;  and  if  he 
can  add  an  eagle's  plume  to  his  scalp-lock,  plucked  from 
a  bird  shot  while  on  the  wing,  he  is  honorable  indeed. 

The  Indian's  "  smoke,"  like  the  fire-side  of  the  white 
man,  is  often  the  place  where  groups  of  people  assemble 
to  relate  whatever  may  most  pleasantly  while  away  the 
hours  of  a  long  evening,  or  break  the  monotony  of  a  dull 
and  idle  day.  On  such  occasions,  the  old  "  brave  "  will 
sometimes  relax  from  his  natural  gravity,  and  grow  lo- 
quacious over  his  checiuered  life.  But  no  recital  com- 
mands such  undivided  attention  as  the  adventures  with 
the  grizzly  bear — even  the  death  of  an  enemy  on  the 
war-path  hardly  vies  with  it  in  interest. 

We  have  listened  to  these  soul- stirring  adventures 
over  the  urn,  or  while  lounging  on  the  sofa ;  and  the 
recital  of  the  risks  run — the  hardships  endured — have 
made  us  think  them  almost  impossible,  when  compared 
with  the  conventional  self-indulgence  of  enlightened  life. 
But  they  were  the  tales  of  a  truthful  man — a  hunter — 


GRIZZLY    BEAK-HUNTING.  137 

who  hail  stra}o<l  away  from  the  scenes  once  necessary 
for  his  life,  and  who  loved,  like  the  worn-out  soldier,  to 
'•  iSght  the  battles  over,"  in  which  he  was  once  engaged. 

It  may  be,  and  is  the  province  of  the  sportsman  to 
exaggerate — )>ut  the  "hunter,"  surrounded  by  the  mag- 
nificence and  sublimity  of  an  American  forest,  earning 
his  bread  by  the  hardy  adventures  of  the  chase,  meets 
with  too  much  reality  to  find  room  for  coloring — too 
much  of  the  sublime  and  terrible  in  thii  scenes  witl» 
wliicii  he  is  associated  to  be  boastful  of  himself.  While 
apart  from  the  favorable  efi'ects  of  civilization,  he  is  also 
separated  from  its  contaminations  ;  and  boasting  and 
exaggeration  are  settlement  weaknesses^  and  not  the 
products  of  the  wild  woods. 

The  hunter,  whether  Indian  or  white,  presents  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  exhibitions  of  the  singular 
capacity  of  the  human  senses  to  be  improved  by  cultiva- 
tion. We  arc  accustomed  to  look  with  surprise  upon 
the  instincts  of  animals  and  insects.  We  wonder  and 
admire  the  sagacity  they  display,  for  the  purposes  of 
self-preservation — both  in  attack  and  defence.  The 
lion,  the  bear,  the  beaver,  the  bee,  all  betray  a  species 
of  intelligence,  that  seems  for  their  particular  purposis 
superior  to  the  wisdom  of  man ;  yet,  on  examination, 
it  will  be  found  that  this  is  not  the  case.  For  all  his- 
tories of  the  human  denizen  of  the  forest  show,  that  the 
Indian  surpasses  the  brute  in  sagacity,  while  the  white 
hunter  excels  both  animal  and  savage. 


138  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

The  unfortunate  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind  girl,  in  one 
of  our  public  institutions,*  selects  her  food,  her  clothing, 
and  her  friends,  by  the  touch  alone — so  delicate  has  it 
become,  from  the  mind's  being  directed  to  that  sense 
alone. 

The  forest  hunter  is  compelled  by  circumstances  to 
cultivate  his  sight,  to  almost  the  same  degree  of  perfec- 
tion characterizing  the  blind  girl's  touch,  and  experience, 
at  last  renders  it  so  keen,  that  the  slightest  touch  of  a 
passing  object  on  the  leaves,  trees,  or  earth,  leaves  to 
him  a  deep  and  visible  impression,  though  to  the  com- 
mon eye  unseen  as  the  path  of  the  bird  through  the  air. 
This  knowledge  governs  the  chase  and  the  war-path ; 
this  knowledge  is  what,  when  excelled  in,  makes  the 
master-spirit  among  the  rude  inhabitants  of  the  woods  : 
and  that  man  is  the  greatest  chief,  who  follows  the  cold- 
est trail,  and  leaves  none  behind  him  by  his  own  foot- 
steps. . 

The  hunter  in  pursuit  of  the  grizzly  bear  is  governed 
by  this  instinct  of  sight — it  guides  him  -with  more  cer- 
tainty than  the  hound  is  directed  by  his  nose.  The  im- 
pressions of  the  bear's  footsteps  upon  the  leaves,  its 
marks  on  the  trees,  its  resting-places,  are  all  known  long 
before  the  bear  is  really  seen ;  and  the  hunter,  while 
thus  following  ''  the  trail,"  calculates  the  very  sex, 
weight,  and  age  with  certainty.     Thus  it  is  that  he  will 

*  Hartford  Asylum  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb. 


(iKlZZLY    KKAR-HUNTING.  139 

neglect,  or  choose  a  trail — for  in  t]io<e  indistiiic-t  patlis, 
are  visible  to  his  mind's  eye.  bear  that  arc  young  and 
old,  lean  and  fat.  You  look  into  the  forest,  all  is  va- 
cant ;  the  hunter,  at  a  casual  glance,  detects  where 
has  passed  his  object  of  pursuit,  and  grows  as  enthusi- 
astic over  this  spiritual  representation  as  if  the  reality 
was  before  him — and  herein,  perhaps,  lies  the  distinction 
between  the  sportsman,  and  the  huntsman.  The  hunter 
follows  his  object  by  his  own  knowledge  and  instinct, 
while  the  sportsman  employs  the  instinct  of  domesticated 
animals  to  assist  in  his  pursuits. 

The  different  methods  by  which  to  destroy  the  grizzly 
bear,  by  those  who  hunt  them,  are  as  numerous  as  the 
bears  that  are  killed.  They  are  not  animals  which  per- 
mit of  a  system  in  hunting  them;  and  it  is  for  this  reason 
that  they  are  so  dangerous  and  difficult  to  destroy.  The 
experience  of  one  hunt  may  cost  a  limb  or  a  life  in  the 
next  one,  if  used  as  a  criterion ;  and  fatal,  indeed,  is  a 
mistake, — when  you  grapple  with  an  animal,  whose  gi- 
gantic strength  enables  him  to  lift  a  horse  in  his  huge 
arms,  and  bear  it  away  as  a  prize.  There  is  one  terrible 
exception  to  this  rule  ;  one  habit  of  the  animal  may  be 
certainly  calculated  upon,  but  a  daring  heart  only  can 
take  advantage  of  it. 

The  grizzly  bear,  like  the  tiger  and  lion,  have  their 
caves  in  which  they  live  ;  but  they  use  them  principally 
as  a  safe  lodging-place  when  the  cold  of  winter  renders 
them  torj>id  :ind  disposed  to  sleep.     To  these  caves  they 


140  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

retire  late  in  the  fall,  and  they  seldom  venture  out  until 
awakened  by  the  genial  warmth  of  spring.  Sometimes 
two  occupy  one  cave,  but  this  is  not  often  the  case,  as 
the  unsociability  of  the  animal  is  proverbial,  it  preferring 
to  be  solitary  and  alone. 

A  knowledge  of  the  forests,  and  an  occasional  trail- 
ing for  bear,  informs  the  hunter  of  these  caves ;  and  the 
only  habit  of  the  grizzly  bear  that  can  with  certainty  be 
taken  advantage  of,  is  the  one  of  his  being  in  his  cave  at 
the  proper  season.  And  the  hunter  has  the  terrible 
liberty  of  entering  this  den  single-handed,  and  there 
destroying  him.  Of  this  only  method  of  hunting  the 
grijzzly  bear  we  would  attempt  a  description. 

The  thought  of  entering  a  cave,  inhabited  by  one  of 
the  most  powerful  beasts  of  prey,  is  calculated  to  try  the 
strength  of  the  stoutest  nerves ;  and  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  the  least  trepidation,  the  slightest  mistake, 
may  cause,  and  probably  will  result,  in  the  instant  death 
of  the  hunter,  it  certainly  exhibits  the  highest  demon- 
stration of  physical  courage  to  pursue  such  a  method  of 
hunting.  Yet  there  are  many  persons  in  the  forests  of 
North  America  who  engage  in  such  perilous  adventures 
with  no  other  object  in  view  than  the  "  sport  "  or   a 

hearty  meal. 

The  hunter's  preparations  to  "beard  the  lion  in  his 
den,"  commence  with  examining  the  mouth  of  the  cave 
he  is  about  to  enter.  Upon  the  signs  there  exhibited, 
he  decides  whether  the  bear  be  alone ;  for  if  there  be 


GRIZZLY    BEAR-HUNTING.  141 

two,  tlie  cave  is  never  entered.  The  size  of  the  bear  is 
also  thus  known,  ami  the  time  since  he  was  last  in  search 
of  food. 

The  way  that  this  knowledge  is  obtained,  from  indi- 
cations so  slight,  or  unseen  to  an  ordinary  eye,  is  one 
of  the  greatest  mysteries  of  the  woods. 

Placinff  ourselves  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave  contain- 
ing  a  grizzly  bear,  to  our  untutored  senses,  there  would 
be  nothing  to  distinguish  it  from  one  that  is  unoccupied ; 
but  let  some  Diana  of  the  forest  touch  our  cya^,  and 
give  us  the  instinct  of  sight  possessed  by  the  hunter, 
and  we  would  argue  thus : 

''  From  all  the  marks  about  the  mouth  of  the  cave, 
the  occupant  has  not  been  out  for  a  great  length  of  time, 
for  the  grass  and  the  cartli  have  not  been  lately  dis- 
turbed. 

"  The  bear  is  in  the  cave,  for  the  last  tracks  made 
are  with  the  toe-marks  towards  it. 

'-  There  is  but  one  bear,  because  the  tracks  are  reg- 
ular and  of  the  same  size. 

"  He  is  a  large  animal;  the  length  of  tlie  step  and 
the  size  of  the  paw  indicate  this. 

"And  he  is  fat,  because  his  hind  feet  do  not  step  in 
the  impressions  made  by  the  fore  ones,  as  is  always  the 
ease  with  a  lean  bear." 

Such  are  the  signs  and  arguments  that  present  them- 
selves to  the  hunter;  and  mysterious  as  they  seem, 
when  not  understood,  when  once  explained,  they  strike 


142  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUx\TER. 

the  imagination  as  being  founded  on  the  unerring  sim 
plicity  and  certainty  of  nature. 

It  may  be  asked,  how  is  it  that  the  grizzly  bear  is  so 
formidable  to  numbers  when  met  in  the  forest,  but  when 
in  a  cave  can  be  assailed  successfully  by  a  single  man  ? 
In  answer  to  this,  we  must  recollect  that  the  bear  is 
only  attacked  in  his  cave  when  he  is  in  total  darkness, 
and  suffering  from  surprise  and  the  torpidity  of  the 
season. 

These  three  things  are  in  this  method  of  hunting 
taken  advantage  of ;  and  but  for  these  advantages,  no 
quickness  of  eye,  steadiness  of  nerve  or  forest  expe- 
rience, would  protect  for  an  instant,  the  intruder  to  the 
cave  of  the  grizzly  bear. 

The  hunter,  having  satisfied  himself  about  the  cave, 
prepares  a  candle,  which  he  makes  out  of  the  wax  taken 
from  the  comb  of  wild  bees,  softened  by  the  grease  of 
the  bear.  This  candle  has  a  large  wick,  and  emits  a 
brilliant  flame.  Nothing  else  is  needed  but  the  rifle. 
The  knife  and  the  belt  are  useless;  for  if  a  struggle 
should  ensue  that  would  make  it  available,  the  foe  is  tot 
powerful  to  mind  its  thrusts  before  the  hand  using  it 
would  be  dead. 

Bearing  the  candle  before  him,  with  the  rifle  in  a 
convenient  position,  the  hunter  fearlessly  enters  the 
cave.  He  is  soon  surrounded  by  darkness,  and  is  to- 
tally unconscious  where  his  enemy  will  reveal  himself. 
Having  fixed  the  candle  in  the  ground  in  firm  position, 


GRIZZLY    BEAR-HUNTING.  143 

witli  .1  provided  apparatus,  he  lights  it,  and  its  l.rilliant 
flame  soon  penetrates  into  the  recesses  of  the  cavern — 
its  size  of  course,  rendering  the  illumination  more  or  less 
complete. 

The  hunter  now  places  himself  on  his  holly,  having 
the  candle  between  the  back  part  of  the  cave  where  the 
bear  sleeps,  and  himself;  in  this  position,  with  the  muz- 
zle of  the  rifle  protruding  out  in  front  of  him,  he  pa- 
tiently waits  for  his  victim.  A  short  time  only  elapses 
before  Bruin  is  aroused  by  the  light.  The  noise  made 
by  his  starting  from  sleep  attracts  the  hunter,  and  he 
soon  distinguishes  the  black  mass ;  moving,  stretching, 
and  yawning  like  a  person  awaked  from  a  deep  sleep. 

The  hunter  moves  not,  but  prepares  his  rifle;  the 
bear,  finally  aroused,  turns  his  head  towards  the  candle, 
and,  with  slow  and  waddling  steps,  approaches  it. 

Now  is  the  time  that  tries  the  nerves  of  the  hunter; 
it  is  too  late  to  retreat,  and  his  life  hangs  upon  his  cer- 
tain aim  and  the  goodness  of  his  powder.  The  slightest 
variation  in  the  bullet,  or  a  flashing  pan,  and  he  is  a 
doomed  man. 

So  tenacious  of  life  is  the  common  black  bear,  that 
it  is  frequently  wounded  in  its  most  vital  parts,  and  still 
will  escape,  or  give  terrible  battle. 

But  the  grizzly  bear  seems  to  possess  an  infinitely 
greater  tenacity  of  life.  His  skin,  covered  by  matted 
hair,  and  the  huge  bones  of  his  body,  protect  the  heart 
as  if  incased  in  a  wall ;  while  the  brain  is  buried  in  a 


144  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

skull,  compared  to  wliich,  adamant  is  not  harder. .  A 
bullet,  striking  the  bear's  forehead,  would  flatten,  if  it 
struck  squarely  on  the  solid  bone,  as  if  fired  against  a 
rock  :  and  dangerous  indeed  would  it  be  to  take  the 
chartpe  of  reaching  the  animal's  heart. 

With  these  fearful  odds  against  the  hunter,  the  bear 
approaches  the  caudle,  growing  every  moment  more  sen- 
sible of  some  uncommon  intrusion.  He  reaches  the 
blaze,  and  raises  his  paw  to  strike  it,  or  lifts  his  nose  to 
scent  it, — either  of  which  will  extinguish  it,  and  leave  the 
hunter  and  the  bear  in  total  darkness. 

This  dreadful  moment  is  taken  advantage  of — the 
loud  report  of  the  rifle  fills  the  cave  with  stunning  noise 
— and  as  the  light  disappears,  the  ball,  if  successfully 
fired,  penetrates  the  eye  of  the  huge  animal — the  only 
place  where  it  would  find  a  passage  to  the  brain  ;  and 
this  not  only  gives  the  death-wound,  but  instantly  par- 
alyzes, that  no  temporary  resistance  may  be  made. 

On  such  fearful  chances  the  American  hunter  perils 
his  life,  and  often  thoughtlessly,  courts  the  danger. 


A  PIANO  IN  ARKANSAS. 

We  shall  never  forget  the  excitement  which  seized  upon 
the  inhabitants  of  the  little  village  of  Hardserabble,  as 
the  report  spread  through  the  community,  that  a  real 
piano  had  actually  arrived  within  its  precincts. 

Speculation  was  afloat  as  to  its  appearance  and  its 
use.  The  name  was  familiar  to  every  body  ;  but  what 
it  precisely  meant,  no  one  could  tell.  That  it  had  legs 
was  certain  ; — for  a  stray  volume  of  some  literary  tra- 
veller was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  works  in  the  float- 
ing library  of  Hardserabble  ;  and  said  traveller  stated, 
that  he  had  seen  a  piano  somewhere  in  New  England 
with  pantalettes  on — also,  an  old  foreign  paper  was 
brought  forward,  in  which  there  was  an  advertisement 
headed  "  Soiree,"  which  informed  the  ''  citizens  gene- 
rally," that  Mr.  Bobolink  would  preside  at  the  piano. 

This  was  presumed  by  several  wiseacres,  who  had 
been  to  a  menagerie,  to  mean,  that  Mi;.  Bobolink  stirred 
the  piano  up  with  a  long  pole,  in  the  same  way  that  the 
showman  did  the  lions  and  rhi-no-cerus. 


146         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

So,  public  opinion  was  in  favor  of  its  being  an  ani- 
mal, though  a  harmless  one  ;  for  there  had  been  a  land 
speculator  through  the  village  a  few  weeks  previously, 
who  distributed  circulars  of  a  ''  Female  Academy,"  for 
the  accomplishment  of  young  ladies.  These  circulars 
distinctly  stated  "  the  use  of  the  piano  to  be  one  dollar 
per  month." 

One  knowing  old  chap  said,  if  they  would  tell  him 
what  so-i-ree  meant,  he  would  tell  them  what  a  piano 
was,  and  no  mistake. 

The  owner  of  this  strange  instrument  was  no  less 
than  a  very  quiet  and  very  respectable  late  merchant  of 
a  little  town  somewhere  "  north,"  who  having  failed  at 
home,  had  emigrated  into  the  new  and  hospitable  coun- 
try of  Arkansas,  for  the  purpose  of  bettering  his  for- 
tune, and  escaping  the  heartless  sympathy  of  his  more 
lucky  neighbors,  who  seemed  to  consider  him  a  very 
bad  and  degraded  man  because  he  had  become  honestly 
poor. 

The  new  comers  were  strangers,  of  course.  The 
house  in  which  they  were  setting  up  their  furniture  was 
too  little  arranged  "  to  admit  of  calls ;"  and  as  the  fa- 
mily seemed  very  little  disposed  to  court  society,  all 
prospects  of  immediately  solving  the  mystery  that  hung 
about  the  piano  seemed  hopeless.  In  the  mean  time 
public  opinion  was  "  rife." 

The  depository  of  this  strange  thing  was  looked  upon 
by  the  passers-by  with  indefinable  awe ;  and  as  noises 


A    PIANO    IN    ARKANSAS.  147 

unfamiliar,  sometimes  reached  the  street,  it  was  j.re- 
sumed  that  the  piano  made  them,  and  the  excitement 
rose  higher  than  ever — in  the  midst  of  it,  one  or  two 
old  ladies,  presuming  upon  their  age  and  respectability, 
called  upon  the  strangers  and  inquired  after  tlioir 
health,  and  offered  their  services  and  friendship  ;  mean- 
time every  thing  in  the  house  was  eyed  with  the  great- 
est intensity,  but  seeing  nothing  strange,  a  hint  was 
given  about  the  piano.  One  of  the  new  family  observed 
carelessly,  "  that  it  had  been  much  injured  by  bringing 
out,  that  the  damp  had  affected  its  tones,  and  that  one 
of  its  legs  was  so  injured  that  it  would  not  stand  up, 
and  for  the  present  it  would  not  ornament  the  parlor.'' 

Here  was  an  explanation,  indeed  :  injured  in  bring- 
ing out — damp  affecting  its  tones — leg  broken.  "  Poor 
thing !  "  ejaculated  the  old  ladies  with  real  sympathy, 
as  they  proceeded  homeward  ;  "  travelling  has  evidently 
fatigued  it ;  the  Mass-is-sip  fogs  have  given  it  a  cold, 
poor  thing  !  "  and  they  wished  to  sec  it  with  increased 
curiosity. 

The  "  village"  agreed,  that  if  Moses  Mercer,  fami- 
liarly called  Mo  Mercer,"  was  in  town,  they  would  have 
a  description  of  the  piano,  and  the  uses  to  which  it  was 
put ;  and  fortunately,  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement, 
"  Mo"  arrived,  he  having  been  temporarily  absent  on  a 
hunting  expedition. 

Moses  Mercer  was  the  only  son  of  ''  old  Mercer," 
who  was.  and    had  been,  in   the  State  Senate    ever  since 


148         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

Arkansas  was  admitted  into  the  "  Union."  Mo,  from 
this  fact,  received  great  glory,  of  course ;  his  father's 
greatness  alone  would  have  stamped  him  with  supe- 
riority ;  but  his  having  been  twice  to  the  "  Capitol'' 
when  the  legislature  was  in  session,  stamped  his  claims 
to  pre-eminence  over  all  competitors. 

Mo  Mercer  was  the  oracle  of  the  renowned  village 
of  Hardscrabble. 

"  Mo"  knew  every  thing  ;  he  had  all  the  consequence 
and  complacency  of  a  man  who  had  never  seen  his 
equal,  and  never  expected  to.  "  Mo"  bragged  exten- 
sively upon  his  having  been  to  the  "  Capitol"  twice, — 
of  his  there  having  been  in  the  most  "  fashionable  soci- 
ety,"— of  having  seen  the  world.  His  return  to  town 
was  therefore  received  with  a  shout.  The  arrival  of  the 
piano  was  announced  to  him,  and  he  alone  of  all  the 
community,  was  not  astonished  at  the  news 

His  insensibility  was  considered  wonderful.  He 
treated  the  piano  as  a  thing  that  he  v/as  used  to,  and 
went  on,  among  other  things  to  say,  that  he  had  seen 
more  pianos  in  the  "  Capitol  "  than  he  had  ever  seen 
woodchucks ;  and  that  it  was  not  an  animal,  but  a  musi- 
cal instrument,  played  upon  by  the  ladies  ;  and  he  wound 
up  his  description  by  saying  that  the  way  "  the  dear 
creeters  could  pull  music  out  of  it  was  a  caution  to 
hoarse  owls." 

The  new  turn  given  to  the  piano  excitement  in 
Hardscrabble  by  Mo   Mercer,  was  like  pouring   oil  on 


A     riANO    IN    ARKANSAS.  149 

fire  to  extinguish  it,  for  it  blazed  out  with  more  vigor 
than  ever.  That  it  was  a  nni>i(  al  instrument,  made  it  a 
rarer  tiling  in  that  wild  country  than  if  it  had  been  an 
animal,  and  people  of  all  sizes,  colors,  and  degrees,  were 
dying  to  see  and  hear  it. 

Jim  Cash  was  >Io  Mercer's  right-hand  man  ;  in  the 
language  of  refined  society,  he  was  "  Mo's  toady," — in 
the  language  of  Hardscrabble,  he  was  "  Mo's  wheel- 
horse."  Cash  believed  in  Mo  Mercer  with  an  abandon- 
ment tliat  was  perfectly  ridiculous.  Mr.  Cash  was  dy- 
ing to  see  the  piano,  and  the  first  opportunity  he  had 
alone  with  his  Quixote,  he  expressed  the  desire  that 
was  consuming  his  vitals. 

"  We'll  go  at  once  and  see  it,"  said  Mercer. 
"  Strangers  !  "  echoed  the  frightened  Cash. 
'  Humbug !     Do  you  think  I  have  visited  the  '  Ca- 
pitol' twice,  and  don't  know  how  to  treat  fashionable  so- 
ciety ?     Come  along  at  once,  Cash,"  said  Mercer. 

Oft'  the  pair  started,  Mercer  all  confidence,  and  Cash 
all  fears,  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  visit.  These  fears 
Cash  frankly  expressed ;  but  Mercer  repeated,  for  the 
thousandth  time,  his  experience  in  the  fashionable  soci- 
ety of  the  "  Capitol,  and  pianos,"  w^hich  he  said  "  was 
synonymous'' — and  he  finally  told  Cash,  to  comfort  him, 
that  however  abashed  and  ashamed  he  might  be  in  the 
presence  of  the  ladies,  "  that  he  needn't  fear  of  sticking, 
for  he  would  pull  him  through." 

A    few  minutes'  walk  brought  the    parties    on    the 


150  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

broad  galleries  of  the  house  that  contained  the  object 
of  so  much  curiosity.  The  doors  and  windows  were 
closed,  and  a  suspicious  look  was  on  every  thing. 

"  Do  they  always  keep  a  house  closed  up  this  way 
that  has  a  piano  in  it  ?  "  asked  Cash,  mysteriously. 

"  Certainly,"  replied  Mercer  ;  "  the  damp  would  de- 
stroy its  tones." 

Repeated  knocks  at  the  doors,  and  finally  at  the 
windows,  satisfied  both  Cash  and  Mercer  that  nobody 
was  at  home.  In  the  midst  of  their  disappointment, 
Cash  discovered  a  singular  machine  at  the  end  of  the 
gallery,  crossed  by  bars  and  rollers,  and  surmounted 
with  an  enormous  crank.  Cash  approached  it  on  tip- 
toe ;  he  had  a  presentiment  that  he  beheld  the  object  of 
his  curiosity,  and  as  its  intricate  character  unfolded  it- 
self, he  gazed  with  distended  eyes,  and  asked  Mercer, 
with  breathless  anxiety,  "  What  that  strange  and  in- 
comprehensible box  was  ?  " 

Mercer  turned  to  the  thing  as  coolly  as  a  north  wind 
to  an  icicle,  and  said  "  that  was  ?/." 

"  That  IT  ! !  "  exclaimed  Cash,  opening  his  eyes  still 
wider ;  and  then  recovering  himself,  ■  he  asked  to  see 
"  the  tones." 

Mercer  pointed  to  the  cross-bars  and  rollers.  With 
trembling  hands,  with  a  resolution  that  would  enable  a 
man  to  be  scalped  without  winking.  Cash  reached  out 
his  hand,  and  seized  the  handle  of  the  crank  (Cash,  at 
heart,  was  a  brave  and  fearless  man) ;  he  gave  it  a  turn, 


A    PIANO    IN    ARKANSAS.  151 

the  machinery  grated  harshly.  I'lid  seemed  to  clamor  for 
something  to  he  put  in  its  m:iw. 

''  What  delicious  sounds ! ''  said  Cash. 

"  Beautiful !  "  observed  the  complacent  Mercer,  at 
the  same  time  seizing  Cash's  arm,  and  asking  liini  to 
desist,  for  fear  of  breaking  the  instrument,  or  getting  it 
out  of  tune. 

The  simple  caution  was  sufficient ;  and  Cash,  in  the 
joy  of  the  moment,  at  what  he  had  done  and  seen,  look- 
ed as  conceited  as  Mo  Mercer  himself. 

Busy,  indeed,  was  Cash,  from  this  time  forward,  in 
explaining  to  gaping  crowds  the  exact  appearance  of  the 
piano,  how  he  had  actually  taken  hold  of  it,  and,  as 
his  friend  Mo  Mercer  observed,  "  pulled  music  out 
of  it." 

The  curiosity  of  the  village  was  thus  allayed,  and 
consequently  died  comparatively  away  ;  Cash,  however, 
having  risen  to  almost  as  nmcli  importance  as  Mo  Mer- 
cer, for  having  seen  and  handled  th»  thing. 

Our  "  Northern  family  "  knew  little  or  nothing  of  all 
this  excitement ;  they  received  meanwhile  the  visits  and 
congratulations  of  the  hospitable  villagers,  and  resolved 
to  give  a  grand  party  to  return  some  of  the  kindness 
they  had  received,  and  the  piano  was,  for  the  first  time, 
moved  into  the  parlor.  No  invitation  on  this  occasion 
was  neglected ;  early  at  the  post  was  every  visitor,  for  it 
was  rumored  that  Miss  Patience  Doolittle  would,  in  the 
course  of  the  evening,  ''perform  on  the  piano." 


152         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

The  excitement  was  immense.  The  supper  was  pass- 
ed over  with  a  contempt,  rivalling  that  which  is  cast 
upon  an  excellent  farce  played  preparatory  to  a  dull 
tragedy,  in  which  the  star  is  to  appear.  The  furniture 
was  all  critically  examined ;  but  nothing  could  be  dis- 
covered answering  Cash's  description.  An  enormously 
thick-leafed  tahle^  with  a  "  spread  "  upon  it,  attracted 
little  attention,  timber  being  so  very  cheap  in  a  new 
country,  and  so  every  body  expected  soon  to  see  the 
piano  "  brought  in," 

Mercer,  of  course,  was  the  hero  of  the  evening; 
he  talked  much  and  loudly.  Cash,  as  well  as  several 
young  ladies,  went  into  hysterics  at  his  wit.  Mercer, 
as  the  evening  wore  away,  grew  exceedingly  conceited, 
even  for  him  ;  and  he  graciously  asserted  that  the  com- 
pany present  reminded  him  of  his  two  visits  to  the  "  Ca- 
pitol," and  other  associations,  equally  exclusive  and  pe- 
culiar. 

The  evening  worsen  apace,  and  still — no  piano.  That 
hope  deferred  which  maketh  the  heart  sick,  was  felt  by 
some  elderly  ladies,  and  by  a  few  younger  ones  ;  and 
Mercer  was  solicited  to  ask  Miss  Patience  Doolittle,  to 
favor  the  company  with  the  presence  of  the  piano. 

"  Certainly,"  said  Mercer,  and  with  the  grace  of  a 
city  dandy  he  called  upon  the  lady  to  gratify  all  present 
with  a  little  music,  prefacing  his  request  with  the  remark, 
that  if  she  was  fatigued,  "  his  friend  Cash  would  give  the 
machine  a  turny 


t.ii. 


'^M^c^^B^V^^=^ 


She  approached  the  thick  leafed  table,  and  removed  the  covering,  throwing 
it  carelessly  and  gracefully  aside."— jDag'*  153. 


A    PIAXO    IN    ARKANSAJi.  153 

Miss  Patience  smiled,  and  looked  at  Cash. 

Cash's  knees  trembled. 

All  eyes  in  the  room  turned  upon  him. 

Cash  sweat  all  over. 

Miss  Patience  said  she  was  gratified  to  hear  that  Mr. 
Cash  was  a  musician  ;  she  admired  people  who  had  a 
musical  taste.  Whereupon  Cash  fell  into  a  chair,  as  he 
afterwards  observed,  "  chawed-up." 

Oh  that  Beau  Brummel,  or  any  of  his  admirers  could 
have  seen  Mo  Mercer  all  this  while  !  Calm  as  a  sum- 
mer morning — complacent  as  a  newly-painted  sign — he 
smiled  and  patronized,  and  was  the  only  unexcited  per- 
son in  the  room. 

Miss  Patience  rose, — a  sigh  escaped  from  all  pre- 
sent,— the  piano  was  evidently  to  be  brought  in.  She 
approached  the  thick-leafed  table,  and.  removed  the 
covering,  throwing  it  carelessly  and  gracefully  aside; 
opened  the  instrument,  and  presented  the  beautiful  ar- 
rangement of  dark  and  white  keys. 

Mo  Mercer  at  this,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  look- 
ed confused  ;  he  was  Cash's  authority  in  his  descriptions 
of  the  appearance  of  the  piano  ;  while  Cash  himself,  be- 
gan to  recover  the  moment  that  he  ceased  to  be  an  ob- 
ject of  attention.  Many  a  whisper  now  ran  through  the 
room  as  to  the  "tones,"  and  more  particularly  the 
"  crank  ;"    none  could  see  them. 

Miss  Patience  took  her  seat,  ran  her  fingers  over  a 
few  octaves,  and  if  "  Moses  in  Egypt"  was  not  perfectly 


m 


154  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTE... 

executed^  Moses  in  Hardscrabble  ivas.  The  dulcet 
sounds  ceased.  "  Miss,"  said  Cash,  the  moment  that 
he  could  express  himself,  so  entranced  was  he  by  the 
music, — "  Miss  Doolittle,  what  was  that  instrument  Mo 
Mercer  showed  me  in  your  gallery  once,  that  went  by  a 
crank,  and  had  rollers  in  it  ?  " 

It  was  now  the  time  for  Miss  Patience  to  blush ;  so 
away  went  the  blood  from  confusion  to  her  cheeks ;  she 
hesitated,  stammered,  and  said,  "  if  Mr.  Cash  must  know, 
it  was  a — a — a — Yankee  ivashing  machine y 

The  name  grated  on  Mo  Mercer's  ears  as  if  rusty 
nails  had  been  thrust  into  them ;  the  heretofore  invul- 
nerable Mercer's  knees  trembled ;  the  sweat  started  to 
his  brow  as  he  heard  the  taunting  whispers  of  "  visiting 
the  Capitol  twice,"  and  seeing  pianos  as  plenty  as  wood- 
chucks. 

The  fashionable  vices  of  envy  and  maliciousness,  were 
that  moment  sown  in  the  village  of  Hardscrabble  ;  and 
Mo  Mercer — the  great — the  confident — the  happy  and 
self-possessed — surprising  as  it  may  seem,  was  the  first 
victim  sacrificed  to  their  influence. 

Time  wore  on,  and  pianos  became  common,  and  Mo 
Mercer  less  popular ;  and  he  finally  disappeared  alto- 
gether, on  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  a  Yankee 
peddler  of  notions  sold,  to  the  highest  bidder,  *'  six  pa- 
tent, warranted,  and  improved  Mo  Mercer  pianos." 


WILD-CAT  HUNTING. 

In  the  southern  portions  of  the  United  States,  but  es- 
pecially in  Louisiana,  the  wild-cat  is  found  in  abundance. 
The  dense  swamps  that  border  on  the  Mississippi,  pro- 
tect this  vicious  species  of  game  from  extermination, 
and  foster  their  increase  ;  and,  although  every  year  vast 
numbers  are  killed,  they  remain  seemingly  as  numerous 
as  they  ever  were  ''  in  the  memory  of  the  oldest  inhabit- 
ant." 

The  wild-cat  seeks  the  most  solitary  retreats  in 
which  to  rear  its  young,  where  in  some  natural  hole  in 
the  ground,  or  some  hollow  tree,  it  finds  protection  for 
itself  and  its  kittens  from  the  destructive  hand  of  man. 
At  night,  or  early  morn,  it  comes  abroad,  stealing  over 
the  dried  leaves,  in  search  of  prey,  as  (^uictly  as  a 
zephyr,  or  ascending  the  forest  tree  with  almost  the 
ease  of  a  bird. 


156  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

The  nest  on  the  tree,  and  the  burrow  in  the  ground 
are  alike  invaded ;  while  the  poultrj-yard  of  the  farmer, 
and  his  sheepfold,  are  drawn  on  liberally,  to  supply  the 
cat  with  food.  It  hunts  down  the  rabbit,  coon,  and  pos- 
sum, and  springs  from  the  elevated  bough  upon  the  bird 
perched  beneath,  catching  in  its  mouth  its  victim;  and 
will  do  this  while  descending  like  an  arrow  in  speed, 
and  with  the  softness  of  a  feather  to  the  ground. 
Nothing  can  exceed  its  beauty  of  motion  when  in  pur- 
suit of  game,  or  sporting  in  play.  No  leap  seems  too 
formidable — no  attitude  ungraceful.  It  runs — flies — 
leaps — skips — and  is  at  ease,  in  an  instant  of  time  ; 
every  hair  of  its  body  seems  redolent  with  life. 

Its  disposition  is  untamable;  it  seems  insensible 
to  kindness ;  a  mere  m^ss  of  ill-nature,  having  no  sym- 
pathies with  any,  not  even  of  its  own  kind.  It  is  for 
this  reason,  no  doubt,  that  it  is  so  recklessly  pursued ; 
its  paw  being,  like  the  hand  of  the  Ishmaelite,  against 
every  man  ;  and  it  most  indubitably  follows,  that  every 
man's  dogs,  sticks,  and  guns,  are  against  it.  The 
hounds  themselves,  that  hunt  equally  well  the  cat  and 
the  fox,  pursue  the  former  with  a  clamorous  joy,  and 
kill  it  with  a  zest  which  they  do  not  display  when  finish- 
ing off  a  fine  run  after  Reynard.  In  fact,  as  an  animal 
of  sport,  the  cat  in  many  respects  is  preferable  to  the 
fox ;  its  trail  is  always  warmer,  and  it  shows  more  sa- 
gacity in  eluding  its  enemies. 

In  Louisiana  the  sportsman  starts  out  in  the  morn- 


WILD-CAT    HINTING.  157 

ing,  professedly  for  a  fox-chase,  and  it  turns  out  "  cat," 
and  often  both  cat  and  fox  are  killed,  after  a  short  but 
hard  morning's  work. 

The  chase  is  varied,  and  is  frequently  full  of  amus- 
ing incident,  for  the  cat,  as  might  be  expected,  will  take 
to  the  trees,  to  avoid  pursuit,  and  this  habit  of  the  ani- 
mal allows  the  sportsman  to  meet  it  on  quite  familiar 
terms.  If  the  tree  be  a  tall  one,  the  excitable  creature 
manages  to  have  its  face  obscured  by  the  distance ;  but 
if  it  takes  to  a  dead,  limbless  trunk,  where  the  height 
will  permit  its  head  to  be  fairly  seen,  as  it  looks  down 
upon  the  pack  that,  with  such  open  mouths, 

"Fetch  shrill  echoes  from  the  hollow  earth," 

you  will  see  a  rare  exhibition  of  rage  and  fury ;  eyes 
that  seem  like  living  balls  of  fire,  poisonous  claws,  which 
clutch  the  insensible  wood  with  deep  indentations ;  the 
foam  trembles  on  its  jaws  ;  the  hair  stands  up  like  por- 
cupine quills  ;  the  ears  press  down  to  the  head,  forming 
as  perfect  a  picture  of  vicious,  ungovernable  destructive- 
ness  as  can  be  imagined.  A  charge  of  mustard-seed 
shot,  or  a  poke  with  a  stick  when  at  bay,  will  cause  it  to 
desert  its  airy  abode ;  and  it  no  sooner  touches  the 
ground,  than  it  breaks  ofi"  at  a  killing  pace,  the  pack 
like  mad  fiends  on  its  trail. 

Besides  "  treeing,"  the  cat  will   take  advantage  of 
some  hole  in  the  ground,  and  di-sappear,  when  it  meets 


158         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTEK. 

with  these  hiding-places,  as  suddenly  as  ghosts  vanish 
at  cock-crowing.  The  hounds  come  up  to  the  hiding- 
place,  and  a  fight  ensues.  The  first  head  intruded  into 
the  cat's  hole  is  sure  to  meet  with  a  warm  reception. 
Claws  and  teeth  do  their  work. 

Still  the  staunch  hound  heeds  it  not,  and  either  he 
gets  a  hold  himself,  or  acts  as  a  bait  to  draw  the  cat 
from  its  burrow  ;  thus  fastened,  the  dog,  being  the  most 
powerful  in  strength,  backs  out,  dragging  his  enemy 
along  with  him ;  and  no  sooner  is  the  cat's  head  seen  by 
the  rest  of  the  pack,  than  they  pounce  upon  it,  and  in  a 
few  moments  the  "  nine  lives  "  of  the  "  varmint  "  are 
literally  chawed-up. 

At  one  of  these  burrowings,  a  huge  cat  intruded  into 
a  hole  so  small,  that  an  ordinarily  large  hound  could  not 
follow.  A  little  stunted  but  excellent  dog,  rejoicing  in 
the  name  of  Ringwood,  from  his  diminutiveness  succeed- 
ed in  forcing  his  way  into  the  hole  after  the  cat ;  in  an 
instant  a  faint  scream  was  heard,  and  the  little  fellow 
gave  symptoms  of  having  caught  a  Tartar.  One  of  the 
party  present  stooped  down,  and  running  his  arm  under 
the  dog's  body,  pressed  it  forward,  until  he  could  feel 
that  the  cat  had  the  dog  firmly  clawed  by  each  shoulder, 
with  his  nose  in  the  cat's  mouth  ;  in  this  situation,  by 
pressing  the  dog  firmly  under  the  chest,  the  two  were 
drawn  from  the  hole. 

The  cat  hung  on  untix  he  discovered  that  his  victim 
was  surrounded  by  numerous  friends,  when  he  let  go 


^ViLD•C•AT    HUNTING.  hV.I 

his  cruel  hold,  the  more  vigorously  to  defend  himself. 
Riiigwood,  though  covered  with  jetting  blood,  jumped 
upon  the  cat,  and  shook  away  as  if  unharmed  in  the 
contest. 

Sportsmen,  in.  hunting  the  cat,  provide  themselves 
generally  with  pistols — not  for  the  purpose  of  killing 
the  cat,  but  to  annoy  it,  so  that  it  will  leap  from  the 
tree,  when  it  has  taken  to  one.  Sometimes  from  negli- 
gence these  infantile  shooting-irons  are  left  at  home,  and 
the  cat  gets  safely  out  of  the  reach  of  sticks,  or  whatever 
other  missile  may  be  convenient.  This  is  a  most  pro- 
voking affair ;  dogs  and  sportsmen  lose  all  patience ; 
and  as  no  expedient  suggests  itself,  the  cat  escapes  for 
the  time. 

I  once  knew  a  cat  thus  perched  out  of  reach,  that 
was  brought  to  terras  in  a  very  singular  manner. 

The  tree  on  which  the  animal  was  lodged  being  a 
very  high  one,  and  secure  from  all  interruption,  it  looked 
down  upon  its  pursuers  with  the  most  provoking  compla- 
cency ;  every  effort  to  dislodge  it  had  failed,  and  the 
hunt  was  about  to  be  abandoned  in  despair,  when  one 
of  the  sportsmen  discovered  a  grapevine  that  passed 
directly  over  the  cat's  body,  and  by  running  his  eyes 
along  its  circumvolutions,  traced  it  down  to  the  ground ; 
a  judicious  jerk  at  the  vine  touched  the  cat  on  the  rump; 
this  was  most  unexpected,  and  it  instantly  leaped  to  the 
ground  from  a  height  of  over  forty  feet ;  striking  on  its 
fore  paws,  and    throwing  a   sort   of  rough  somerset,  it 


160  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

Started  oflP  as  sound  in  limb  and  wind,  as  if  he  had  just 
jumped  from  a  "  hucklebury  "  bush. 

The  hunter  of  the  wild  turkey,  while  "calling,"  in 
imitation  of  the  hen,  to  allure  the  gobbler  within  reach 
of  his  gun,  will  sometimes  be  annoyed  by  the  appearance 
of  the  wild-cat  stealing  up  to  the  place  from  whence  the 
sounds  proceed.  The  greatest  caution  on  such  occasions 
is  visible  in  the  cat ;  it  progresses  by  the  slowest  possible 
movements,  crawling  along  like  a  serpent.  The  hunter 
knows  that  the  intruder  has  spoiled  his  turkey  sport  for 
the  morning,  and  his  only  revenge  is  to  wait  patiently, 
and  give  the  cat  the  contents  of  his  gun,  then,  minus  all 
game,  he  goes  home  anathematizing  the  whole  race  of 
cats,  for  thus  interfering  with  his  sport  and  his  dinner. 

Of  all  the  peculiarities  of  the  cat,  its  untameable  and 
quarrelsome  disposition,  is  its  most  marked  character- 
istic. 

There  is  no  half-way  mark,  no  exception,  no  occa- 
sional moment  of  good  nature  ;  starvation  and  a  surfeit, 
blows  and  kind  words,  kicks,  cuffs,  and  fresh  meat,  reach 
not  the  sympathies  of  the  wild-cat. 

He  has  all  the  greediness  of  a  pawnbroker,  the  ill  na- 
ture of  a  usurer,  the  meanness  of  a  pettifogging  lawyer, 
the  blind  rage  of  the  hog,  and  the  apparent  insensibility 
to  pain  of  the  turtle  :  like  a  woman,  the  wild-cat  is  in- 
comparable with  any  thing  but  itself. 

In  expression  of  face,  the  wild-cat  singularly  resem- 
bles the  rattlesnake.     The   skulls  of  these  two  "  var- 


WILD-CAT    HUNTING.  101 

mints  "  have  the  same  venomous  expression,  the  same 
demonstration  of  fangs  ;  and  probably  no  two  living  crea- 
tures attack  each  other  with  more  deadly  ferocity  and 
hate.  They  will  stare  at  each  other  with  eyes  filled 
with  defiance,  and  burning  with  fire ;  one  hissing,  and 
the  other  snarling;  presenting  a  most  terrible  picture  of 
the  malevolence  of  passion. 

The  serpent  in  his  attitudes  is  all  grace — the  cat,  all 
activity.  The  serpent  moves  with  the  quickness  of 
lightning  while  making  the  attack ;  the  cat  defends 
with  motions  equally  quick,  bounding  from  side  to  side, 
striking  with  its  paws.  Both  are  often  victims,  for  they 
seldom  separate  until  death-blows  have  been  inflicted  on 
either  side. 

The  western  hunter,  when  he  wishes  to  cap  the  cli- 
max of  braggadocio,  with  respect  to  his  own  prowess, 
says,  "  He  can  whip  his  weight  in  wild-cats."  This  is 
saying  all  that  can  be  said,  for  it  would  seem,  consider- 
ing its  size,  that  the  cat  in  a  fight  can  bite  fiercer,  scratch 
harder,  and  live  longer  than  any  other  animal  whatever. 

"  I  am  a  roaring  earthquake  in  a  fight,"  sung  out 
one  of  the  half-horse,,half-alligator  species  of  fellows — 
"  a  real  snorter  of  the  universe.  I  can  .strike  a.s  hanl  as 
fourth  proof  lightning,  and  keep  it  up,  rough  and  tum- 
ble, as  long  as  a  wild-€at." 

These  high  encomiums  on  the  character  of  the  pug- 
nacity of  the  cat  are  beyond  question. 

A  "  singed  cat "  is  an  excellent  proverb,  illustrating 


162  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

that  a  person  may  be  smarter  than  he  looks.     A  singed 
wi/d-csit,  as  such  an  illustration,  would  be  sublime. 

The  Indians,  who,  in  their  notions  and  traditions, 
are  always  picturesque  and  beautiful,  imagine  that  the 
rattlesnake,  to  live,  must  breathe  the  poisonous  air  of 
the  swamps,  and  the  exhalations  of  decayed  animal  mat- 
ter ;  while  the  cat  has  the  attribute  of  gloating  over  the 
meaner  displays  of  evil  passions  of  a  quarrelsome  per- 
son; for,  speaking  of  a  quarrelsome  family,  they  say, 
''  That  the  lodge  containing  it  fattens  the  wild-cat.''^ 


Mike  Fink's  Great  Shot 


MIKE  FINK,  THE  KEEL-BOATMAN. 

Occasionally,  may  be  seen  on  the  Ohio  and  Missis- 
sippi rivers  singularly  hearty-looking  men,  who  would 
puzzle  a  stranger,  as  to  their  history  and  age.  Their 
bodies  always  exhibit  a  powerful  development  of  muscle 
and  bone ;  their  cheeks  are  prominent,  and  you  would 
pronounce  them  men  enjoying  perfect  health  in  middle 
life,  were  it  not  for  their  heads,  which,  if  not  entirely 
bald,  will  be  but  sparsely  covered  with  steel-gray  hair. 

Another  peculiarity  about  this  people  is,  that  they 
have  a  singular  knowledge  of  all  the  places  on  the  river; 
every  bar  and  bend  is  spoken  of  with  precision  and 
familiarity ;  every  town  is  recollected  before  it  was  lialf 
as  large  as  the  present,  or,"  when  it  was  no  town  at  all." 
Innumerable  places  are  marked  out  by  them,  where  ouce 
was  an  Indian  fight,  or  a  rendezvous  of  robbers. 

The   manner,  the  language,  and  the  dress  of  these 


164  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

individuals  are  all  characteristic  of  sterling  common 
sense — the  manner  modest,  3^et  full  of  self-reliance — the 
language  strong  and  forcible,  from  superiority  of  mind, 
rather  than  from  education — the  dress  studied  for  com- 
fort, rather  than  fashion — on  the  whole,  you  become  at- 
tached to  them  and  court  their  society.  The  good  hu- 
mor— the  frankness — the  practical  sense — the  reminis- 
cences— the  powerful  frame — all  indicate  a  character, 
at  the  present  day  anomalous  ;  and  such,  indeed,  is  the 
case,  for  your  acquaintance  will  be  one  of  the  few  re- 
maining people,  now  spoken  of  as  the  "  Last  of  the  keel- 
boatmen." 

Thirty  years  ago  the  navigation  of  the  Western  wa- 
ters was  confined  to  this  class  of  men ;  the  obstacles 
presented  to  the  pursuit  of  commerce  in  those  swift- 
running  and  wayward  waters  had  to  be  overcome  by 
physical  force  alone  ;  the  navigator's  arm  grew  strong 
as  he  guided  his  rude  craft  past  the  "  snag "  and 
"  sawyer,"  or  kept  it  off  the  no  less  dreaded  "  bar." 

Besides  all  this,  the  deep  forests  that  covered  the 
river  banks  concealed  the  wily  Indian,  who  gloated  over 
the  shedding  of  blood.  The  qualities  of  the  frontier 
warrior,  therefore,  associated  themselves  with  those  of 
the  boatman,  while  these  men  would,  when  at  home, 
drop  both  these  characters  in  that  of  cultivator  of  the 
soil. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  they  were  brave, 
hardy,  and  open-handed  men  :  their  whole  lives  were  a 


MIKi:    FI\K,    THi:    KKI.LBOATMAN.  IT)/^ 

round  of  manly  excitement ;  they  were,  when  most  na- 
tural, hypc'ibolical  in  thought  and  in  deed,  if  compared 
with  any  other  class  of  men.  Their  bravery  and  chiv- 
alrous deeds  were  performed  witliout  a  herald  to  pro- 
claim them  to  the  world — they  were  the  mere  incidents 
of  a  border  life,  considered  too  common  to  attract  atten- 
tion, or  outlive  the  time  of  a  passing  wonder.  Death 
has  nearly  destroyed  the  men,  and  obscurity  is  fast  ob- 
literating the  record  of  their  deeds;  but  a  few  examples 
still  exist,  as  if  to  justify  the  truth  of  these  wonderful 
exploits,  now  almost  wholly  confined  to  tradition. 

Among  the  flat-boatmen  there  were  none  who  gained 
more  notoriety  than  Mike  Fink.  His  name  is  still  re- 
membered along  the  whole  of  the  Ohio,  as  a  man  who 
excelled  his  fellows  in  every  thing, — particularly  in  his 
rifle-shot,  which  was  acknowledged  to  be  unsurpassed. 
Probably  no  man  ever  lived,  who  could  compete  with 
Mike  in  the  latter  accomplishment.  Strong  as  Hercu- 
les, free  from  all  nervous  excitement,  possessed  of  per- 
fect health,  and  familiar  with  his  weapon  from  child- 
hood; he  raised  the  rifle  to  his  eye,  and,  having  once 
taken  sight,  it  was  as  firmly  fixed  as  if  buried  in  a 
rock. 

The  rifle  was  Mike's  pride,  and  he  rejoiced  on  all  oc- 
casions where  he  could  bring  it  into  use,  whether  it  was 
turned  against  the  beast  of  prey  or  the  more  savage  In- 
dian :  and  in  his  day,  the  last  named  was  the  common 
foe  with  whom  Mike  and  his  as.sociate8  had  to  contend. 


166  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTEIl. 

On  the  occasion  when  we  would  particularly  intro- 
duce Mike  to  the  reader,  he  had  bound  himself  for  a 
while  to  the  pursuits  of  trade,  until  a  voyage  from  the 
head-waters  of  the  Ohio,  and  down  the  Mississippi, 
could  be  completed.  Heretofore  he  had  kept  himself 
exclusively  to  the  Ohio,  but  a  liberal  reward,  and  some 
curiosity,  prompted  him  to  extend  his  business  charac- 
ter beyond  his  ordinary  habits  and  inclinations. 

In  the  accomplishment  of  this  object,  he  lolled 
carelessly  over  the  big  "  sweep"  that  guided  the  "  flat " 
on  which  he  officiated  ; — the  current  of  the  river  bore  the 
boat  swiftly  along,  and  made  his  labor  light.  Wild  and 
uncultivated  as  Mike  appeared,  he  loved  nature,  and  had 
a  soul  that  sometimes  felt,  while  admiring  it,  an  exalted 
enthusiasm. 

The  beautiful  Ohio  was  his  favorite  stream.  From 
where  it  runs  no  stronger  than  a  gentle  rivulet,  to  where 
it  mixes  with  the  muddy  Mississippi,  Mike  was  as 
familiar  with  its  meanderings,  as  a  child  could  be  with 
those  of  a  flower-garden.  He  could  not  help  noticing 
with  sorrow  the  desecrating  hand  of  improvement  as  he 
passed  along,  and  half  soliloquizing,  and  half  addressing 
his  companions,  he  broke  forth : 

"I  knew  these  parts  afore  a  squatter's  axe  had 
blazed  a  tree  ;  'twasn't  then  pulling  a  — —  sweep  to 
get  a  living  ;  but  pulling  the  trigger,  did  the  business. 
Those  were  times  to  see  ; — a  man  might  call  himself 
lucky  then. 


MIKi:    FINK,    THi:    KEEL-BOATMAN.  I  ()? 

"  What's  the  use  of  improvements  ? 

"  When  did  cutting  down  trees  make  doer  more 
plenty  ? 

'•  Who  ever  found  wild  buft'iUo,  or  a  brave  Indian, 
in  a  city  ?  Where's  the  fun,  the  frolicking,  the  fight- 
ing ?     Gone  !  Gone  ! 

"  The  rifle  won't  make  a  man  a  living  now — he 
must  turn  mule  and  work.  If  forests  continue  this  way 
to  be  used  up,  I  may  yet  be  smothered  in  a  settlement. 
Boys,  this  'ere  life  won't  do.  I'll  stick  to  tlie  broad- 
horn  'cordin'  to  contract ;  but  once  done  with  it,  I'm  off 
for  a  frolic.  If  the  Choctas  or  Cherokees  on  the  Mas- 
sissip  don't  give  us  a  brush  as  we  pass  along,  I  shall 
grow  as  poor  as  a  starved  wolf  in  a  pitfall. 

"  I  must,  to  live  peaceably,  point  my  rifle  at  some- 
thing more  dangerous  than  varmint.  Six  months  and 
no  fight,  would  spile  me  worse  than  a  'tack  of  rheuma- 
tism." 

Mike  ceased  speaking.  The  then  beautiful  village 
of  Louisville  appeared  in  sight ;  the  labor  of  landing  the 
boat  occupied  his  attention — the  bustle  and  confusion 
that  followed  such  an  incident  ensued ;  and  Mike  was  his 
own  master  by  law,  until  his  employers  ceased  trafficking, 
and  again  required  his  services.^ 

At  the  time  we  write  of,  a  great  many  renegade  In- 
dians lived  about  the  settlements,  which  is  still  the  case 
in  the  extreme  southwest.  These  Indians  are  generally 
the  most    degraded  of    their  tribe — outcasts,   who,   f«>r 


168         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

crime  or  dissipation,  are  no  longer  allowed  to  associate 
with  their  people  ;  they  live  by  hunting  or  stealing,  and 
spend,  in  the  towns,  their  precarious  gains  in  intoxica- 
tion. 

Among  the  throng  that  crowded  on  the  flat-boat  on 
his  arrival,  were  a  number  of  these  unfortunate  beings ; 
they  were  influenced  by  no  other  motive  than  that 
of  loitering  round  in  idle  speculation  at  what  was 
going  on. 

Mike  was  attracted  towards  them  at  sight ;  and  as 
he  was  idle,  and  consequently  in  the  situation  that  is 
deemed  most  favorable  to  mischief,  it  struck  him  that  it 
was  a  good  opportunity  to  have  a  little  sport  at  the  In- 
dians' expense. 

Without  ceremony,  he  gave  a  terrific  war-whoop  ; 
and  then  mixing  the  language  of  the  aborigines  and  his 
own  together,  he  went  on  savage  fashion,  and  bragged  of 
his  triumphs  and  victories  on  the  war-path,  with  all  the 
seeming  earnestness  of  a  real  "  brave."  Nor  were  taunt- 
ing words  spared  to  exasperate  the  poor  creatures,  who, 
while  perfectly  helpless,  listened  to  the  tales  of  their  own 
greatness,  and  their  own  shame,  until  wound  up  to  the 
highest  pitch  of  impotent  exasperation.  Mike's  com- 
panions joined  in ;  thoughtless  boys  caught  the  spirit  of 
the  aflair ;  and  the  Indians  were  goaded  until  they,  in 
turn,  made  battle  with  their  tongues. 

Then  commenced  a  system  of  running  against  them, 
pulling  off  their  blankets,  joined  with  a  thousand  other 


MIKE    FINK,    THK    KEEL-BOATMAN.  1 09 

indignities ;  finally  the  Indians  made  a  precipitate  re- 
treat ashore,  amid  the  hooting  and  jeering  of  a  thought- 
less crowd  which  considered  them  as  poor  devils,  desti- 
tute of  both  feeling  and  humanity. 

Among  this  band  of  outcasts  was  a  Cherokee,  who 
bore  the  name  of  Proud  Joe ;  what  his  real  cognomen 
was,  no  one  knew,  for  he  was  taciturn,  haughty — and,  in 
spite  of  his  poverty  and  his  manner  of  life,  won  the  name 
we  have  mentioned.  His  face  was  expressive  of  talent, 
but  it  was  furrowed  by  the  most  terrible  habits  of 
drunkenness.  That  he  was  a  superior  Indian  was  ad- 
mitted :  and  it  was  also  understood  that  he  was  banish- 
ed from  his  mountain  home,  his  tribe  being  then  numer- 
ous and  powerful,  for  some  great  crime.  He  was  always 
looked  up  to  by  his  companions,  and  managed,  however 
intoxicated  he  might  be,  to  sustain  a  singularly  proud 
bearing,  which  did  not  even  depart  from  him  while  pros- 
trate on  the  ground. 

Joe  was  careless  of  his  person  and  habits — in  this 
respect  he  was  behind  his  fellows ;  but  one  ornament  of 
his,  was  attended  to  with  a  care  which  would  have  done 
honor  to  him  if  still  surrounded  by  his  people,  and  amid 
his  native  woods.  Joe  still  wore,  with  Indian  dignity, 
hie  scalplock ;  he  ornamented  it  with  taste,  and  cherished 
it,  as  report  said,  until  some  Indian  messenger  of  ven- 
geance should  tear  it  from  his  head,  as  expiatory  of  his 
numerous  crimes.  Mike  had  noticed  this  peculiarity; 
and,  reaching  out  his  hand,  plucked  from  the  revered 
scalplock  a  hawk's  feather.  8 


170  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

The  Indian  glared  horribly  on  Mike  as  he  consum- 
mated the  insult,  snatched  the  feather  from  his  hand, 
then  shaking  his  clenched  fist  in  the  air,  as  if  calling  on 
Heaven  for  revenge,  retreated  with  his  friends. 

Mike  saw  that  he  had  roused  the  soul  of  the  savage, 
and  he  marvelled  wonderfully  that  so  much  resentment 
should  be  exhibited ;  and  as  an  earnest  to  Proud  J  oe 
that  the  wrong  he  had  done  him  should  not  rest  unre- 
venged,  he  swore  that  he  would  cut  the  scalplock  off 
close  to  his  head,  the  first  convenient  opportunity,  and 
then  he  thought  no  more  about  it. 

The  morning  following  the  arrival  of  the  boat  at 
Louisville  was  occupied  in  making  preparations  to  pur- 
sue the  voyage  down  the  river.  Nearly  every  thing 
was  completed,  and  Mike  had  taken  his  favorite  place 
at  the  sweep,  when,  looking  up  the  river  bank,  he  beheld 
at  some  distance  Joe  and  his  companions,  and  perceived, 
from  their  gesticulations,  that  they  were  making  him  the 
subject  of  conversation. 

Mike  thought  instantly  of  several  ways  m  wnich  he 
could  show  them  altogether,  a  fair  fight,  and  then  whip 
them  with  ease ;  he  also  reflected  with  what  extreme 
satisfaction  he  would  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  arrange- 
ment, and  other  matters  to  him  equally  pleasing — when 
all  the  Indians  disappeared,  save  Joe  himself,  who 
stood  at  times  viewing  Mike  in  moody  silence,  and  then 
staring  round  at  passing  objects. 

From  the  peculiarity  of  Joe's  position  to  Mike,  who 


MIKi:    1  INK,    THC    KEEL-BOATMAN.  17  1 

was  below  him,  his  head  and  the  upper  part  of  his  body 
were  relieved  boldly  against  the  sky,  and  in  one  of  his 
movements,  he  brought  his  profile  face  to  view.  The 
prominent  scalp-lock  and  its  adornments  seemed  to  be 
more  striking  than  ever,  and  again  roused  the  pugnacity 
of  Mike  Fink;  in  an  instant  he  raised  his  rifle,  always 
loaded  and  at  command,  brought  it  to  his  eye.  and,  be- 
fore he  could  be  prevented,  drew  sight  upon  Proud  Joe, 
and  fired.  The  ball  whistled  loud  and  slirill,  and  Joe, 
springing  his  whole  length  into  the  air,  fell  upon  the 
ground. 

The  cold-blooded  murder  was  noticed  by  fifty  per- 
sons at  least,  and  there  arose  from  the  crowd  a  univer- 
sal cry  of  horror  and  indignation  at  the  bloody  deed 
Mike,  himself,  seemed  to  be  much  astonished,  and  in  an 
instant  reloaded  his  rifle,  and  as  a  number  of  white  per- 
sons rushed  towards  the  boat,  Mike  threw  aside  his  coat, 
and,  taking  his  powder-horn  between  his  teeth,  leaped, 
rifle  in  hand,  into  the  Ohio,  and  commenced  swimming 
for  the  opposite  shore. 

Some  bold  spirits  determined  that  Mike  should  not 
80  easily  escape,  and  jumping  into  the  only  skiff  at  com- 
mand, pulled  swiftly  after  him.  Mike  watched  their 
movements  until  they  came  within  a  hundred  yards  of 
him,  then  turning  in  the  water,  he  supported  himself  by 
his  feet  alone,  and  raised  his  deadly  rifle  to  his  eye. 
Its  muzzle,  if  it  spoke  hostilely,  wa.s  as  certain  to  send 
a  messenger  of  death  througli  on.-  or  nmre  of  his  pursu- 


172  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

ers,  as  if  it  were  lightning,  and  they  knew  it;  they 
dropped  their  oars,  and  silently  returned  to  the  shore. 
Mike  waved  his  hand  towards  the  little  village  of  Louis- 
ville, and  again  pursued  his  way. 

The  time  consumed  by  the  firing  of  Mike's  rifle,  the 
pursuit,  and  the  abandonment  of  it,  required  less  time 
than  we  have  taken  to  give  the  details  ;  and  in  that  time, 
to  the  astonishment  of  the  gaping  crowd  around  Joe, 
they  saw  him  rising  with  a  bewildered  air  ;  a  moment 
more — he  recovered  his  senses  and  stood  up — at  his 
feet  lay  his  scalp-lock  ! 

The  ball  had  cut  it  clear  from  his  head ;  the  cord 
around  the  root,  in  which  were  placed  feathers  and  other 
ornaments,  still  held  it  together ;  the  concussion  had 
merely  stunned  its  owner  ;  farther — he  had  escaped  all 
bodily  harm  !  A  cry  of  exultation  rose  at  the  last  evi- 
dence of  the  skill  of  Mike  Fink — the  exhibition  of  a 
shot  that  established  his  claim,  indisputabl}',  to  the  emi- 
nence he  ever  afterwards  held — that  of  the  unrivalled 
marksman  of  all  the  flatboatmen  of  the  western  waters. 

Proud  Joe  had  received  many  insults.  He  looked 
upon  himself  as  a  degraded,  worthless  being — and  the 
ignominy  heaped  upon  him  he  never,  except  by  reply, 
resented ;  but  this  last  insult  was  like  seizing  the  lion 
by  the  mane,  or  a  Roman  senator  by  the  beard — it 
roused  the  slumbering  demon  within,  and  made  him 
again  thirst  to  resent  his  wrongs,  with  an  intensity  of 
emotion  that  can  only  be  felt  by  an  Indian.     His  eye 


MIKE    FINK,    THE    KEELUOATMAN.  173 

glared  upon  the  jeering  crow«l  likr  a  fiend  ;  his  chest 
swelled  and  heaved  until  it  sconied  that  he  must  sutlb- 
cate. 

No  one  noticed  tliis  emotion.  All  were  intent  upon 
the  expKut  tliat  had  so  singularly  deprived  Joe  of  his 
warlock;  and,  smothering  his  wrath,  he  retreated  to 
his  associates  with  a.  consuming  fire  at  his  vitals.  He 
was  a  different  being  from  wliat  he  had  been  an  hour  be- 
fore;  and  with  that  desperate  resolution  on  which  a 
man  stakes  his  all,  he  swore,  by  the  Great  Spirit  of  his 
forefathers,  that  he  would  be  revenged. 

An  hour  after  the  disappearance  of  Joe,  both  he  and 
Mike  Fink  were  forgotten.  The  flatboat,  which  the 
latter  had  deserted,  was  got  under  way,  and  dashing 
through  the  rapids  in  the  river  opposite  Louisville, 
wended  on  its  course.  As  is  customary  when  night  sets 
in,  the  boat  was  securely  fastened  in  some  little  bend  or 
bay  in  the  shore,  where  it  remained  until  early  morn. 

Long  before  the  sun  had  fairly  risen,  the  boat  was 
again  pushed  into  the  stream,  and  it  passed  through  a 
valley  presenting  the  greatest  possible  beauty  and  fresh- 
ness of  landscape  that  the  mind  can  conceive. 

It  was  spring,  and  a  thousand  tints  of  green  devel- 
oped themselves  in  the  half-formed  foliage  and  bursting 
buds.  The  beautiful  mallard  skimmed  across  tlic  water, 
ignorant  of  the  danger  of  the  white  man's  approach  ; 
the  splendid  spoonbill  decked  the  shallow  places  near 
the  shore,  v^hile  myriads  of  singing  birds  filled  the  air 
with  fhrir  unwritten  songs. 


174  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTEE. 

In  the  far  reaches  down  the  river,  there  occasionally 
might  be  seen  a  bear  stepping  along  the  ground  as  if 
dainty  of  its  feet ;  and,  snuffing  the  intruder  on  his  wild 
home,  he  would  retreat  into  the  woods. 

To  enliven  all  this,  and  give  the  picture  the  look 
of  humanity,  there  was  also  seen,  struggling  with  the 
floating  mists,  a  column  of  blue  smoke,  which  came  from 
a  fire  built  on  a  projecting  point  of  land,  around  which 
the  current  swept  rapidly,  hurrying  past  every  thing 
that  floated  on  the  river.  The  eye  of  the  boatmen  saw 
the  advantage  which  the  situation  of  the  place  rendered 
to  those  on  shore,  to  annoy  and  attack ;  and  as  wandering 
Indians,  even  in  those  days,  did  not  hesitate  to  rob,  there 
was  much  speculation  as  to  what  reception  the  boat 
would  receive  from  the  builders  of  the  fire. 

The  rifles  were  all  loaded,  to  be  prepared  for  any 
kind  of  reception,  and  the  loss  of  Mike  Fink  was  la- 
mented, as  the  prospect  of  a  fight  presented  itself,  where 
he  could  use  with  effect  his  terrible  rifle.  The  boat  in 
the  mean  time  swept  round  the  point ;  but  instead  of  an 
enemy,  there  lay,  in  a  profound  sleep,  Mike  Fink,  with 
his  feet  toasting  at  the  fire,  his  pillow  was  a  huge  bear 
that  had  been  shot  on  the  day  previous,  while,  scattered 
in  profusion  around  him,  were  several  deer  and  wild 
turkeys. 

Mike  had  not  been  idle.  After  selecting  a  place 
most  eligible  for  noticing  the  passing  boat,  he  had  spent 
his  time  in  hunting, — and  was  surrounded  by  trophies 


MIKE    FINK,    THE    KEEL-BOATMAN.  ItO 

of  his  prowess.  The  scoiu'  that  he  presented  was  worthy 
of  the  time  and  the  man,  an<l  ^YOuld  have  thrown  Land- 
seer  into  a  delirium  of  joy,  cnuld  he  have  witnessed  it. 
The  boat,  owing  to  the  swiftness  of  the  current,  passed 
Mike's  resting-place,  although  it  was  pulled  strongly  to 
the  shore.  As  Mike's  companions  came  opposite  to 
him,  they  raised  a  shout,  half  exultation  at  meeting 
him,  and  half  to  alarm  him  with  the  idea  that  Joe's 
friends  were  upon  him.  Mike,  at  the  sound,  sprang  to 
his  feet,  rifle  in  hand,  and  as  he  looked  around,  he 
raised  it  to  his  eyes,  and  by  the  time  that  he  discovered 
the  boat,  he  was  ready  to  fire. 

''  Down  with  your  shooting-iron,  you  wild  critter," 
shouted  one  of  the  boatmen. 

Mike  dropped  the  piece,  and  gave  a  loud  halloo,  which 
echoed  among  the  solitudes  like  a  piece  of  artillery. 
The  meeting  between  Mike  and  his  fellows  was  charac- 
teristic. They  joked,  and  jibed  him  with  their  rough 
wit,  and  he  parried  it  off"  with  a  most  creditable  inge- 
nuity. Mike  soon  learned  the  extent  of  his  rifle-shot — 
but  he  seemed  perfectly  indifierent  to  the  fact  that 
Proud  Joe  was  not  dead. 

The  only  sentiment  he  uttered,  was  regret  that  he 
did  not  fire  at  the  vagabond's  head,  for  if  he  hadn't  hit 
it,  why,  he  said  that  he  would  have  made  the  first  bad 
shot  in  twenty  years.  The  dead  game  was  carried  on 
board  of  the  boat,  the  adventure  was  forgotten,  and 
every  thing  resumed  the  monotony  of  floating  in  a  flat- 
boat  down  the  Ohio. 


176  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

A  month  or  more  elapsed,  and  Mike  had  progressed 
several  hundred  miles  down  the  Mississippi ;  his  jonrney 
had  been  remarkably  free  from  incident ;  morning,  noon, 
and  night,  presented  the  same  banks,  the  same  muddy 
water,  and  he  sighed  to  see  some  broken  land,  some  high 
hills,  and  he  railed  and  swore,  that  he  should  have  been 
such  a  fool  as  to  desert  his  favorite  Ohio  for  a  river  that 
produced  nothing  but  alligators ;  and  was  never,  at  best, 
half  finished. 

Occasionally,  the  plentifulness  of  game  put  him  in 
spirits,  but  it  did  not  last  long ;  he  wanted  more  lasting 
excitement,  and  declared  himself  as  perfectly  miserable 
and  helpless,  as  a  wild-cat  without  teeth  or  claws. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Natchez  rise  a  few  abrupt  hills, 
which  tower  above  the  surrounding  lowlands  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi like  monuments ;  they  are  not  high,  but  from 
their  loneliness  and  rarity,  they  create  sensations  of 
pleasure  and  awe. 

Under  the  shadow  of  one  of  these  bluffs,  Mike  and 
his  associates  made  the  customary  preparations  for  pass- 
ing the  night.  Mike's  enthusiasm  knew  no  bounds  at 
the  sight  of  land  again ;  he  said  it  was  as  pleasant  as 
"  cold  water  to  a  fresh  wound ;"  and,  as  his  spirits  rose, 
he  went  on  making  the  region  round  about,  according  to 
his  notions,  an  agreeable  residence. 

"  The  Choctaws  live  in  these  diggins,"  said  Mike, 
"  and  a  cursed  time  they  must  have  of  it.  Now  if  I 
lived  in  these  parts  I'd  declare  war  on  'em  just  to  have 


MIKE    FINK,    THE    KEEL-BOATMAN.  177 

something  to  keep  me  from  growing  dull  ;  without  some 
such  business  I'd  be  as  musty  as  an  old  swamp  moccason 
snake.  I  would  build  a  cabin  on  that  ar  hill  yonder,  and 
could,  from  its  location,  with  my  rifle,  repulse  a  whole 
tribe,  if  they  dar'd  to  come  after  me. 

"'  What  a  beautiful  time  I'd  have  of  it  !  I  never  was 
particular  about  what's  called  a  fair  tight ;  I  just  ask 
half  a  chance,  and  the  odds  against  me. — and  if  I  then 
don't  keep  clear  of  snags  and  sawyers,  let  me  spring 
a  leak  and  go  to  the  bottom.  It's  natur  that  the  big  fish 
should  eat  the  little  ones.  I've  seen  trout  swallow  a 
perch,  and  a  cat  would  come  along  and  swallow  the 
trout,  and  perhaps,  on  the  Mississippi,  the  alligators  use 
up  the  cat,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  row. 

"  "Well,  I  will  walk  tall  into  varmint  and  Indian  ;  it's 
a  way  I've  got,  and  it  comes  as  natural  as  grinning  to  a 
hyena.  I'm  a  regular  tornado — tough  as  a  hickory — 
and  long-winded  as  a  nor'-wester.  I  can  strike  a  blow 
like  a  falling  tree — and  every  lick  makes  a  gap  in  the 
crowd  that  lets  in  an  acre  of  sunshine.  Whew,  boys !  " 
shouted  Mike,  twirling  his  rifle  like  a  walking-stick 
around  his  head,  at  the  ideas  suggested  in  his  mind. 
"  Whew,  boys  !  if  the  Choctaw  divils  in  them  ar  woods 
thar  would  give  us  a  brush,  just  as  I  feel  now,  I'd  call 
them  gentlemen.  I  must  fight  something,  or  I'll  catch 
the  dry  rot — burnt  brandy  won't  save  me." 

Such  were  some  of  the  expressions  which  Mike  gave 
utterance    to,    and    in    which   his   companions   heartily 


178  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

joined  ;  but  they  never  presumed  to  be  quite  equal  to 
Mike, — for  his  bodily  prowess,  as  well  as  his  rifle,  were 
acknowledged  to  be  unsurpassed.  These  displays  of 
animal  spirits  generally  ended  in  boxing  and  wrestling- 
matches,  in  which  falls  were  received,  and  blows  struck 
without  being  noticed,  that  would  have  destroyed  com- 
mon men. 

Occasionally,  angry  words  and  blows  were  exchanged, 
but,  like  the  summer  storm,  the  cloud  that  emitted  the 
lightning  also  purified  the  air ;  and  when  the  commotion 
ceased,  the  combatants  immediately  made  friends,  and 
became  more  attached  to  each  other  than  before  the 
cause  that  interrupted  the  good  feelings  occurred. 
Such  were  the  conversation  and  amusements  of  the 
evening  when  the  boat  was  moored  under  the  blufi's  we 
have  alluded  to. 

As  night  wore  on,  one  by  one,  the  hardy  boatmen 
fell  asleep,  some  in  its  confined  interior,  and  others,  pro- 
tected by  a  light  covering  in  the  open  air. 

The  moon  arose  in  beautiful  majesty;  her  silver 
light,  behind  the  highlands,  gave  them  a  power  and 
theatrical  effect  as  it  ascended  ;  and  as  its  silver  rays 
grew  perpendicular,  they  kissed  gently  the  summit  of 
the  hills,  and  poured  down  their  full  light  upon  the 
boat,  with  almost  noonday  brilliancy.  The  silence  with 
which  the  beautiful  changes  of  darkness  and  light  were 
produced,  made  it  mysterious.  It  seemed  as  if  some 
creative  power  was  at  work,  bringing  form  and  life  out 
of  darkness. 


MIKi:    FINK,    THK    KKKLBOATMAN.  179 

But  in  tlic  midst  of  the  witchery  of  this  <iuiet  sccue, 
there  sounded  forth  the  terrible  rifle,  and  the  more 
terrible  war-whoop  of  the  Indian.  One  of  the  boat- 
men, asleep  on  deck,  gave  a  stifled  groan,  turned  upon 
his  face,  and  with  a  quivering  motion,  ceased  to  live. 

Not  so  with  his  companions — they  in  an  instant,  as 
men  accustomed  to  danger  and  sudden  attacks,  sprang 
ready-armed  to  their  feet  ;  but  before  they  could  dis- 
cover their  foes,  seven  sleek  and  horribly  painted  sav- 
ages, leaped  from  the  hill  into  the  boat.  The  firing  of 
the  rifle  was  useless,  and  each  man  singled  out  a  foe,  and 
met  him  with  the  drawn  knife. 

The  struggle  was  quick  and  fearful ;  and  deadly 
blows  were  given,  amid  screams  and  imprecations  that 
rent  the  air.  Yet  the  voice  of  Mike  Fink  could  be 
heard  in  encouraging  shouts  above  the  clamor. 

"  Give  it  to  them,  boys  ! ''  he  cried,  "  cut  their  hearts 
out  !  choke  the  dogs  !  Here's  h-U  a- fire  and  the  river 
rising  ! "  Then  clenching  with  the  most  powerful  of  the 
assailants,  he  rolled  with  him  upon  the  deck  of  the  boat. 
Powerful  as  Mike  was,  the  Indian  seemed  nearly  a 
match  for  him.  The  two  twisted  and  writhed  like  ser- 
pents,— now  one  seeming  to  have  the  advantage,  and 
then  the  other. 

In  all  this  confusion  there  might  occasionally  bo 
seen  glancing  in  the  moonlight  the  blade  of  a  knife  ;  but 
at  whom  the  thrusts  were  made,  or  who  wielded  it,  could 
not  be  discovered. 


180  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

The  general  fight  lasted  less  time  than  we  have  taken 
to  describe  it.  The  white  men  gained  the  advantage  ; 
two  of  the  Indians  lay  dead  upon  the  boat,  and  the  liv- 
ing, escaping  from  their  antagonists,  leaped  ashore,  and 
before  the  rifle  could  be  brought  to  bear,  they  were  out 
of  its  reach. 

While  Mike  was  yet  struggling  with  his  adversary, 
one  of  his  companions  cut  the  boat  loose  from  the  shore, 
and,  with  powerful  exertion,  managed  to  get  its  bows  so 
far  into  the  current,  that  it  swung  round  and  floated  ; 
but  before  this  was  accomplished,  and  before  any  one 
interfered  with  Mike,  he  was  on  his  feet,  covered  with 
blood,  and  blowing  like  a  porpoise  :  by  the  time  that  he 
could  get  his  breath,  he  commenced  talking. 

"  Ain't  been  so  busy  in  a  long  time,"  said  he,  turn- 
ing over  his  victim  with  his  foot ;  "  that  fellow  fou't 
beautiful  ;  if  he's  a  specimen  of  the  Choctaws  that  live 
in  these  parts,  they  are  screamers  ;  the  infernal  sar- 
pents  !  the  d d  possums  !  " 

Talking  in  this  way,  he  with  others,  took  a  general 
survey  of  the  killed  and  wounded.  Mike  himself  was 
a  good  deal  cut  up  with  the  Indian's  knife  ;  but  he  called 
his  wounds — blackberry  scratches.  One  of  Mike's  asso- 
ciates was  severely  hurt ;  the  rest  escaped  comparatively 
harmless.  The  sacrifice  was  made  at  the  first  fire  ;  for 
beside  the  dead  Indians,  there  lay  one  of  the,  boat's 
crew,  cold  and  dead,  his  body  perforated  with  four  dif- 
ferent  balls.     That  he  was  the  chief  object  of  attack 


MIKE    FINK,    THE    KEEL-BOATMAN.  181 

Beemed  evident,  yet  no  one  of  his  associates  knew  of  his 
ever  having  had  a  single  fight  with  tlie  Indians. 

The  soul  of  Mike  was  affected,  and,  taking  the  hand 
of  his  deceased  comrade  between  his  own,  he  raised  his 
bloody  knife  towards  the  bright  moon,  and  swore  that 
he  would  desolate  ''  the  nation "  of  the  Indians  who 
made  war  upon  them  that  night ;  and  turning  to  his  stiff- 
ened victim,  which  still  retained  the  expression  of  im- 
placable hatred  and  defiance,  he  gave  it  a  smile  of  grim 
satisfaction,  and  then  joined  in  the  general  conversation 
which  the  occurrences  of  the  night  would  naturally  sug- 
gest. 

The  master  of  the  "  broad  horn  "'  was  a  business 
man.  and  had  often  been  down  the  Mississippi.  This 
was  th«  first  attack  he  had  received,  or  knew  to  have 
been  made  from  the  shores  inhabited  by  the  Choctaws, 
except  by  the  white  man ;  and  he  suggested  the  keeping 
the  dead  Indians  until  daylight,  that  they  might  have  an 
opportunity  to  examine  their  dress  and  features,  and  see 
with  certainty,  who  were  to  blame  for  the  occurrences  of 
the  night. 

The  dead  boatman  was  removed  with  care  to  a  re- 
spectful distance  ;  and  the  living,  except  the  person  at 
the  sweep  of  the  boat,  were  soon  buried  in  profound 
slumber. 

Not  until  after  the  rude  breakfast  was  partaken  of, 
and  the  funeral  rites  of  the  dead  boatman  were  solemnly 
performed,  did  Mike  and  his  companions  disturb  the 
corses  of  tlie  red  men. 


182         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

Mike  went  about  his  business  with  alacrity.  He 
stripped  the  bloody  blanket  from  the  Indian  he  had 
killed,  as  if  it  enveloped  something  requiring  no  respect. 
He  examined  carefully  the  moccasons  on  the  Indian's 
feet,  pronouncing  them  at  one  time  Chickasas — at  an- 
other time,  Shawnese.  He  stared  at  the  livid  face,  but 
could  not  recognize  the  style  of  paint. 

That  the  Indians  were  not  strictly  national  in  their 
adornments,  was  certain,  for  they  were  examined  by 
practised  eyes,  that  could  have  told  the  nation  of  the 
dead,  if  such  had  been  the  case,  as  readily  as  a  sailor 
distinguishes  a  ship  by  its  flag.  Mike  was  evidently 
puzzled  ;  and  as  he  was  about  giving  up  his  task  as 
hopeless,  the  dead  body  he  was  examining  was  turned 
upon  its  side.  Mike's  eyes  distended,  as  some  of  his 
companions  observed,  "  like  a  choked  cat's,"  and  became 
riveted. 

He  drew  himself  up  in  a  half  serious,  and  half  comic 
expression,  and  pointing  at  the  back  of  the  dead  In- 
dian's head,  there  was  exhibited  a  dead  warrior  in  his 
paint,  destitute  of  his  scalp-lock — the  small  stump  which 
was  only  left,  being  stiffened  with  red  j^ciint.  Those 
who  could  read  Indian  symbols  learned  a  volume  of 
deadly  resolve  in  what  they  saw.  The  body  of  Proud 
Joe,  was  stiff  and  cold  before  them. 

The  last  and  best  shot  of  Mike  Fink  had  cost  a  brave 
man  his  life.  The  boatman  so  lately  interred  was  evi- 
dently taken  in  the  moonlight  by  Proud  Joe  and  his 


MIKE    FINK,    THE    KEEL-BOATMAN.  183 

party  for  Mike   Fink,  and    they  had  risked   their   lives, 
one  and  all,  that  he  might  with  certainty  be  sacrificed. 

Nearly  a  thousand  miles  of  swamp  had  been  thread- 
ed, large  and  swift  running  rivers  had  been  crossed, 
hostile  tribes  passed  through  by  Joe  and  his  friends, 
that  they  might  revenge  the  fearful  insult  of  destroy- 
ing, without  the  life^  the  sacred  scalp-lock. 


ALLIGATOR  KILLING. 

In  the  dark  recesses  of  the  loneliest  swamps — in  those 
dismal  abodes  where  production  and  decay  run  riot- 
where  the  serpent  crawls  from  his  den  among  the  tan- 
gled ferns  and  luxuriant  grass,  and  hisses  forth,  unmo- 
lested, his  propensities  to  destroy — where  the  toad  and 
lizard  spend  the  livelong  day  in  their  melancholy  chirp- 
ings  where  the  stagnant  pool  festers  and  ferments,  and 

bubbles  up  its  foul  miasma — where  the  fungi  seem  to 
grow  beneath  your  gaze — where  the  unclean  birds  retire 
after  their  repast,  and  sit  and  stare  with  dull  eyes  in 
vacancy  for  hours  and  days  together ; — there  originates 
the  alligator ;  there,  if  happy  in  his  history,  he  lives 
and  dies. 

But,  alas  !  the  pioneer  of  the  forest  invades  his  home 

the  axe  lets  in  the  sunshine  upon  his  hiding-places  : — 

and  he  frequently  finds  himself,  like  the  Indian,  sur- 
rounded by  the  encroachments  of  civilization,  a  mere 


ALLIGATOR    KILLING.  185 

intruder,  in  lii.s  original  domaiii — and  under  such  cir- 
cumstances only,  does  he  become  an  object  of  rough 
sport,  the  incidents  of  which  deserve  a  passing  notice. 

The  extreme  southern  portions  of  the  United  States 
are  exceedingly  favorable  to  the  growtli  of  the  alligatitr: 
in  the  .swanip.s  that  stretch  over  a  vast  extent  of  coun- 
try, inaccessible  almost  to  man,  they  increase  in  num- 
bers and  size,  live  undisputed  monarchs  of  their  abodes, 
exhibiting  but  little  more  intelligence,  and  exerting  but 
little  more  volition  than  decayed  trunks  of  trees,  for 
which  they  are  not  unfreijuently  mistaken. 

In  these  swampy  regions,  however,  are  found  high 
ridges  of  land  mviting  cultivation.  The  log  cabin  takes 
the  place  of  the  rank  vegetation— the  evidences  of  thrift 
appear — and  as  the  running  streams  display  themselves, 
and  are  cleared  for  navigation,  that  old  settler,  the  alli- 
gator, becomes  exposed,  and  falls  a  victim  to  the  rapa- 
city of  man. 

Thus  hunted — like  creatures  of  higher  organization, 
he  grows  more  intelligent,  from  the  dangers  of  his  situ- 
ation;  his  instincts  become  more  subtle,  and  he  wars  in 
turn  upon  his  only  enemy ;  soon  acquires  a  civilized  taste 
for  pork  and  poultry,  and  acquires  also  a  very  uncivil- 
ized one  for  dogs. 

An  alligator,  in  the  truly  savage  state,  is  a  very 
hapj»y  reptile :  encased  in  an  armor  as  impenetrable  as 
that  of  Ajax,  he  moves  about,  unharmed  by  surround- 
ing circumstances. 


186  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

The  fangs  of  the  rattlesnake  grate  over  his  scales 
as  they  would  over  a  file  :  the  constrictor  finds  nothing 
about  him  to  crush  ;  the  poisonous  moccason  bites  at 
him  in  vain ;  and  the  greatest  pest  of  all,  the  mosquito, 
which  fills  the  air  of  his  abode  with  a  million  stings,  that 
burn  the  flesh  of  other  living  things  like  sparks  of  fire, 
buzz  out  their  fury  upon  his  carcass  in  vain. 

To  say  that  he  enjoys  not  these  advantages — that 
he  crawls  not  forth  as  a  proud  knight  in  his  armor — 
that  he  treads  not  upon  the  land  as  a  master — and 
moves  in  the  water  the  same — would  be  doing  injustice 
to  his  actions,  and  his  habits,  and  the  philosophical  ex- 
ample of  independence  which  he  sets  to  the  trembling 
victims  daily  sacrificed  to  his  wants. 

The  character  of  an  alligator's  face  is  far  from  being 
a  flattering  letter  of  recommendation.  The  mouth  is 
enormously  large,  and  extends  from  the  extreme  tip  of 
the  nose  backwards  until  it  passes  the  ears  ;  indeed, 
about  one  third  of  the  whole  animal  is  mouth,  which, 
being  ornamented  with  superabundant  rows  of  white 
teeth,  gives  the  same  hope  of  getting  out  of  it,  sound  in 
body  and  mind,  if  once  in,  as  does  the  hopper  of  a  bark- 
mill.  Its  body  is  short  and  round,  not  unlike  that  of  a 
horse ;  its  tail  is  very  long,  and  flattened  at  the  end  like 
an  oar.  It  has  the  most  dexterous  use  of  this  appen- 
dage, which  propels  it  along  swiftly  in  the  water,  and  on 
land  answers  the  purpose  of  a  weapon  of  defence. 

The  traveller  through  the  lonely  swamp  at  nightfall 


ALLIGATOR    KILLING.  187 

often  finds  himself  surrounded  by  these  singular  crea- 
tures, and  if  he  be  unaccustomed  to  their  presence  and 
habits,  they  cause  great  alarm.  Scattered  about  in 
every  direction,  yet  hidden  by  the  darknes.s,  he  hears 
their  huge  jaws  open  and  shut  with  a  force  tliat  makes 
a  noise,  when  numbers  are  congregated,  like  echoing 
thunder. 

Again,  in  the  glare  of  the  camp  tire  will  .sometimes 
be  seen  the  huge  alligator  crawling  within  the  lighted 
circle,  attracted  by  the  smell  of  food — perciiance  you 
have  squatted  upon  a  nest  of  eggs,  encased  with  great 
judgment  in  the  centre  of  .some  high  ground  you  your- 
self have  chosen  to  pass  the  night  upon. 

Many  there  are  who  go  unconcernedly  to  sleep  with 
such  intruders  in  their  immediate  vicinity ;  but  a  rifle 
ball,  effectively  fired,  will  most  certainly  leave  you  un- 
molested, while  the  alligator,  in  its  agonies  of  death,  no 
doubt  takes  comfort  in  the  thought,  that  the  sun  will 
hatch  out  its  eggs,  and  that  there  will  grow  up  a  nume- 
rous brood  of  young,  as  hideous  and  destructive  as 
itself. 

The  alligator  is  a  luxurious  animal,  fond  of  all  the 
comforts  of  life,  which  are,  according  to  its  habits,  plen- 
tifully scattered  around  it.  We  have  watched  them,  en- 
joying their  evening  nap  in  the  shades  of  tangled  vine, 
and  in  the  hollow  trunk  of  the  cypress,  or  floating  like  a 
log  on  the  top  of  some  sluggish  pool. 

Wc  have  seen  them  sporting  in  the  green  slime,  and 


188  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

watching,  like  a  dainty  gourmand,  the  fattest  frogs  and 
longest  snakes ;  but  they  are  in  the  height  of  their  glo- 
ry, stretched  out  upon  the  sand-bar  in  the  meridian  sun, 
when  the  summer  heats  pour  down  and  radiate  back 
from  the  parched  sand,  as  tangibly  as  they  would  from 
red-hot  iron.  In  such  places  will  they  bask,  and  blow 
off,  with  a  loud  noise,  the  inflated  air  and  water  which 
expands  within  them,  occasionally  rolling  about  their 
swinish  eyes  with  a  slowness  of  motion,  which,  while  it 
expresses  the  most  perfect  satisfaction,  is  in  no  way  cal- 
culated to  agitate  their  nerves,  or  discompose  them,  by 
too  suddenly  taking  the  impression  of  outward  objects. 

While  thus  disposed,  and  after  the  first  nap  is  taken, 
they  amuse  themselves  with  opening  their  huge  jaws  to 
their  widest  extent,  upon  the  inside  of  which,  instinct- 
ively settle,  thousands  of  mosquitoes  and  other  noxious 
insects  which  infest  the  abode  of  the  alligator.  When 
the  inside  of  the  mouth  is  thus  covered,  the  reptile  brings 
his  jaws  together  with  inconceivable  velocity,  gives  a 
gulp  or  two,  and  again  sets  his  formidable  trap  for  this 
small  game. 

Some  years  since,  a  gentleman  in  the  southern  part 
of  Louisiana,  on  "  opening  a  plantation,"  found,  after 
most  of  the  forest  trees  had  been  cleared  off,  that  in  the 
centre  of  his  land  was  a  boggy  piece  of  low  soil,  nearly 
twenty  acres  in  extent.  This  place  was  singularly  infest- 
ed with  alligators.  Among  the  first  victims  that  fell  a  prey 
to  their  rapacity,  were  a  number  of  hogs  and  fine  poultry ; 


ALLIGATOR    KU.LLNG.  189  ^ 

next  followed,  nearly  all  of  a  pack  of  fine  deer  lionnds. 
It  may  he  easily  imagined  that  the  last  outrage  was  not 
passed  over  with  indifference.  The  leisure  time  of  every 
day  was  devoted  to  tlieir  extermination,  until  the  cold 
of  wiiitor  rendered  them  torpid,  and  buried  them  up  in 
the  earth. 

The  following  summer,  as  is  naturally  the  case,  the 
swamp,  from  the  intense  heat,  contracted  in  its  dimen- 
sions ;  a  number  of  artificial  ditches  drained  off  the 
water,  and  left  the  alligators  little  else  to  live  in  tlian  mud, 
which  was  about  the  consistency  of  good  mortar  :  still 
the  alligators  clung  with  singular  tenacity  to  their  na- 
tive homesteads,  as  if  perfectly  conscious  that  the  com- 
ing fall  would  bring  them  raiiL  While  thus  exposed, 
a  general  attack  was  planned  and  carried  into  execution, 
and  nearly  every  alligator  was  destroyed.  It  was  a  fear- 
ful and  disgusting  sight  to  see  them  rolling  about  in  the 
thick  sediment,  striking  their  immense  jaws  together  in 
the  agony  of  death. 

Dreadful  to  relate,  the  stench  of  these  decaying  bo- 
dies in  the  hot  sun,  soon  produced  an  unthought-of  evil. 
Teams  of  oxen  were  used  in  vain  to  haul  them  away ; 
the  progress  of  corruption  under  the  influence  of  a  tro- 
pical climate  made  the  attempt  fruitless. 

On  the  very  edge  of  the  swamp,  with  nothing  ex- 
posed but  the  head,  lay  one  huge  monster,  evidently  six- 
teen or  eighteen  feet  long;  he  had  been  wounded  in  the 
mel6e,  and  made  incapable  of  moving,  and  the  heat  had 


190  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUKTER. 

actually  baked  the  earth  around  his  body  as  firmly  as 
if  he  was  imbedded  in  cement.  It  was  a  cruel  and  sin- 
gular exhibition  to  see  so  much  power  and  destructive- 
ness  so  helpless. 

We  amused  ourselves  in  throwing  various  things 
into  his  great  cavernous  mouth,  which  he  would  grind 
up  between  his  teeth.  Seizing  a  large  oak  rail,  we  at- 
tempted to  run  it  down  his  throat,  but  it  was  impossi- 
ble ;  for  he  held  it  for  a  moment  as  firmly  as  if  it  had 
been  the  bow  of  a  ship,  then  with  his  jaws  crushed  and 
ground  it  to  fine  splinters. 

The  old  fellow,  however,  had  his  revenge ;  the  dead 
alligators  were  found  more  destructive  than  the  living 
ones,  and  the  plantation  for  a  season  had  to  be  aban- 
doned. 

In  shooting  the  alligator,  the  bullet  must  hit  just  in 
front  of  the  fore  legs,  where  the  skin  is  most  vulnerable  ; 
it  seldom  penetrates  in  other  parts  of  the  body. 

Certainty  of  aim,  therefore,  tells  in  alligator  shoot- 
ing, as  it  does  in  every  thing  else  connected  with 
sporting. 

Generally,  the  alligator,  when  wounded,  retreats  to 
some  obscure  place  ;  but  if  wounded  in  a  bayou ^  where 
the  banks  are  steep,  and  not  affording  any  hiding-places, 
he  makes  considerable  amusement  in  his  convolutions  in 
the  water,  and  in  his  efi'orts  to  avoid  the  pain  of  his 
smarting  wounds. 

In   shooting,  the  instant  that  you  fire,  the   reptile 


ALLIGATOR    KILLING.  191 

disappears,  and  you  are  for  a  few  moments  unable  to 
learn  the  extent  of  injury  you  have  inflicted. 

An  excellent  shot,  who  sent  the  load  with  almost 
unerring  certainty  through  the  eye,  made  one  at  a  huge 
alligator,  and,  as  usual,  he  disajipeared,  but  almost  in- 
stantly rose  again,  spouting  water  from  his  nose,  not 
unlike  a  whale.  A  second  ball,  shot  iu  his  tail,  sent 
him  down  again,  but  he  instantly  rose  and  spouted  : 
this  singular  conduct  prompted  a  bit  of  provocation,  in 
the  way  of  a  plentiful  sprinkling  of  bits  of  wood,  rattled 
against  his  hide.  The  alligator  lashed  himself  into  a 
fury ;  the  blood  started  from  his  mouth  ;  he  beat  the 
water  with  his  tail  until  he  covered  himself  with  spray, 
but  never  sunk  without  instantly  rising  again. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  he  died  and  floated  ashore  ; 
and,  on  examination,  it  was  found  that  the  little  valve 
with  which  nature  has  provided  the  reptile,  to  close  over 
its  nostrils  when  under  water,  had  been  cut  off  by  the 
first  shot,  and  he  was  thus  compelled  to  stay  on  the  top 
of  the  water  to  keep  from  being  drowned. 

We  have  heard  of  many  since  who  have  tried  thus  to 
wound  them,  and  although  they  have  been  hit  in  the 
nose,  yet  they  have  been  so  crippled  as  to  sink  and  die. 

The  alligator,  when  inhabiting  places  near  planta- 
tions, is  particularly  destructive  on  pigs  and  dogs,  and 
if  you  wish  to  shoot  them,  you  can  never  fail  to  <lraw 
them  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  if  you  will  make  a  dog 
yoU,  or  a  pig  squeal ;  and  that  too,  iu  places  where  you 


192         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

may  have  been  fishing  all  day,  without  suspecting  their 
presence. 

Herodotus  mentions  the  catching  of  crocodiles  in 
the  Nile,  by  baiting  a  hook  with  flesh,  and  then  attract- 
ing the  reptile  towards  it  by  making  a  hog  squeal. 

The  ancient  Egyptian  manner  of  killing  the  croco- 
dile is  difi'erent  from  that  of  the  present  day,  as  powder 
and  ball  have  changed  the  manner  of  destruction ;  but 
the  fondness  for  pigs  in  the  crocodile  and  alligator, 
for  more  than  two  thousand  years,  remains  the  same. 


BUFFALO  HUNTING. 

Tin:  buffalo  is  decidedly  one  of  the  noblest  victims  that 
is  sacrificed  to  the  ardor  of  the  sportsman.  There  is  a 
massiveness  about  his  form,  and  a  magnificence  associ- 
ated with  his  home,  that  give  him  a  peculiar  interest. 

No  part  of  North  America  was  originally  unoccupied 
by  the  buffalo.  The  places  where  now  are  cities  and 
towns,  are  remembered  as  their  haunts ;  but  they  have 
kept  with  melancholy  strides  before  the  '*  march  of  civil- 
ization," and  now  find  a  home,  daily  more  exposed  and 
invaded,  only  on  that  division  of  our  continent  west  of 
the  Mississippi. 

But  in  the  immense  wilds  that  give  birth  to  the 
waters  of  the  Missouri — on  the  vast  prairies  that 
stretch  out  like  inland  seas  between  the  "  great  lakes  " 
and  the  Pacific,  and  extend  towards  the  tropics  until 
they  touch  the  foot  of  the  Cordilleras,  the  buffalo  roams 
still  wild  and  free. 

But  the  day  of  his  glory  is  past.     The  Anglo-Saxon, 


194  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

more  wanton  of  place  than  the  savage  himself,  possessed 
of  invincible  courage  and  unlimited  resources,  and  feel- 
ing adventure  a  part  of  life  itself,  has  already  penetrated 
the  remotest  fastnesses,  and  wandered  over  the  most  ex- 
tended plains.  Where  the  live  lightning  leaps  from 
rock  to  rock,  opening  yawning  caverns  to  the  dilating 
eye,  or  spends  its  fury  upon  the  desert,  making  it  a 
sheet  of  fire,  there  have  been  his  footsteps  ;  and  there 
has  the  buifalo  smarted  beneath  his  prowess,  and  kissed 
the  earth. 

The  child  of  fortune  from  the  "  old  world,"  the  fa- 
vorite of  courts,  has  abandoned  his  home  and  affectations, 
and  sought,  among  these  western  wilds,  the  enjoyment 
of  nature  in  her  own  loveliness.  The  American  hunter 
frolics  over  them  as  a  boy  enjoying  his  Saturday  sport. 
The  Indian — like  his  fathers,  ever  restless — scours  the 
mountain  and  the  plain  ;  and  men  of  whatever  condition 
here  meet  equal^  as  sportsmen;  and  their  great  feats  of 
honor  and  of  arms,  are  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  buffalo. 

In  their  appearance,  the  buffalos  present  a  singular 
mixture  of  the  ferocious  and  comical.  At  a  first  glance 
they  excite  mirth  ;  they  appear  to  be  the  sleek-blooded 
kine,  so  familiar  to  the  farmyard,  but  muffled  about  the 
shoulders  in  a  coarse  shawl,  and  wearing  a  mask  and 
beard,  as  if  in  some  outlandish  disguise. 

Their  motions,  too,  are  novel.  They  dash  off,  tail 
up,  shaking  their  great  woolly  heads,  and  planting  their 
feet  under  them,  with  a  swinging  gait  and  grotesque  pre 


BIFFALO    HUNTINO.  105 

cision,  that  suggests  the  notion  that  they  are  a  jolly  set 
of  dare-devils,  fond  of  fun  and  extravagances,  and  dis- 
posed to  have  their  jokes  at  the  expense  of  all  dignity 
of  carriage,  and  the  good  opinion  of  the  grave  portion  of 
the  world. 

But,  upon  nearer  examination,  you  quail  before  the 
deep  destructive  instinct  expressed  in  the  eye ;  the  shaggy 
mane  distends,  and  shows  the  working  of  muscles  fairly 
radiant  with  power  ;  the  fore  foot  dashes  into  and  fur- 
rows the  hard  turf;  the  tail  waves  in  angry  curves  ;  the 
eyeballs  fill  with  blood,  and  with  bellowing  noise  that 
echoes  like  the  thunder,  the  white  foam  covers  the 
shaggy  jaws.  Then  the  huge  form  before  you  grows 
into  a  mountain,  then  is  exhibited  an  animal  sublimity, 
a  world  of  appetite  without  thought,  and  force  without 
reason. 

Standing  on  one  of  the  immense  ppairies  of  the 
"  south-west,"  you  look  out  upon  what  seems  to  be  the 
green  waving  swell  of  the  sea,  suddenly  congealed — and 
it  requires  but  little  fancy  to  imagine,  when  the  storm- 
cloud  sweeps  over  it,  and  the  rain  dashes  in  torrents, 
and  the  fierce  winds  bear  down  upon  it,  that  the  magic 
that  holds  it  immovable,  may  be  broken,  and  leave  you 
helpless  on  the  billowy  wave. 

On  such  an  expanse,  sublime  from  its  immensity, 
roams  the  buffalo,  in  numbers  commensurate  with  the 
extent,  and  not  unfrequently  covering  the  landscape, 
until   their   diminishing  forms   mingle   in   the  opposite 


196  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

horizons,  like  mocking  spectres.  Such  is  the  arena  of 
sport,  and  such  in  quantity,  is  the  game. 

To  the  wild  Indian,  the  buffalo  hunt  awakens  the 
soul  as  absorbingly  as  does  the  defying  yell  on  the  war- 
path. With  inflated  nostril  and  distended  eye,  he 
dashes  after  his  victim,  revelling  in  the  fruition  of  all 
the  best  hopes  of  his  existence,  and  growing  in  the  con- 
ceit of  his  favor  with  the  "  Great  Spirit." 

To  the  rude,  white  hunter,  less  imaginative  than  the 
savage  ;  the  buffalo  hunt  is  the  high  consummation  of  his 
propensity  and  power  to  destroy.  It  gratifies  his  am- 
bition, and  feasts  his  appetite ;  his  work  is  tangible ; 
he  feels — hears — tastes — and  sees  it ;  it  is  the  very  un- 
loosing of  all  the  rough  passions  of  our  nature,  with  the 
conscience  entirely  at  rest. 

To  the  "  sportsman,"  who  is  matured  in  the  con- 
straint of  cities,  and  in  the  artificial  modes  of  enlighten- 
ed society,  and  who  retains  within  his  bosom  the  leaven 
of  our  coarser  nature,  the  buffalo  hunt  stirs  up  the  la- 
tent fires  repressed  by  a  whole  life  ;  they  break  out  with 
ardor,  and  he  enters  into  the  chase  with  an  abandonment, 
which,  while  it  gratifies  every  animal  sense  possessed  by 
the  savage  and  hunter,  opens  a  thousand  other  avenues 
of  high  enjoyment,  known  only  to  the  cultivated  and  re- 
fined mind. 

Among  the  Indians  there  are  but  few  methods  of 
hunting  the  buffalo ;  yet  there  are  tribes  who  display 
more  skill  than  others,  and  seem  to  bring  more  intellect 


lUFFALO    HUNTIN<;.  197 

to  bear  in  the  sjtort.  The  ComaiRlies  in  the  south,  and 
the  Sioux  in  the  north,  are,  tVoni  tlicir  numbers,  warlike 
character,  and  wealth,  by  the  aborigines,  considered  as 
the  true  buffalo  hunters. 

The  Comanelies  inhabit  one  of  the  loveliest  countries 
in  the  world  for  a  winter  home — l)ut  when  the  licats  of 
summer  drive  them  northward,  they  travel  over  the 
loveliest  herbage,  variegated  by  a  thousand  perfumed 
flowers,  that  yield  fragrance  under  every  crush  of  the 
foot.  The  wide  savannas,  that  are  washed  by  tiic 
Trinitv  and  Brasos  rivers,  are  every  where  variegated 
with  clumps  of  live-oak  trees,  among  which  you  involun- 
tarily look  for  the  mansion  of  some  feudal  lord. 

Here  are  realized  almost  the  wildest  dreams  of  the 
future  to  the  red  men  ;  and  here  the  Comanches,  strong 
in  numbers,  and  rich  in  the  spontaneous  productions  of 
their  native  land,  walk  proud  masters,  and  exhibit  sav- 
age life  in  some  of  the  illusive  charms  we  throw  around 
it  while  bringing  a  refined  imagination  to  view  such  life 
in  the  distance. 

Thousands  of  this  tiibe  of  Indians  will  sometimes  be 
engaged  at  one  time  in  a  buffalo  hunt.  In  their  wan- 
derings about  the  prairies,  they  leave  trails  worn  like  a 
long-travelled  road.  Following  the  "  scouts,"  until  the 
vicinity  of  the  animal  is  proclaluKd,  and  then  selecting 
a  halting-place,  favorable  both  for  fuel  and  water,  the 
ceremonies  preparatory  to  a  grand  hunt  take  place. 

Then    are    commenced,    with    due    solemnity,    the 


198  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

prayers  of  the  priests.  A  solemn  feeling  pervades  every 
thoughtful  member  of  the  tribe.  The  death-defying 
warrior,  who  curls  his  scalp-lock  derisively  when  he 
thinks  of  his  enemies,  now  bows  in  submission  to  the 
invisible  presence  that  bestows  upon  the  red  man  the 
great  game  he  is  about  to  destroy,  and  it  is  not  until 
the  fastings,  prayers,  and  self-sacrifices  are  finished  that 
the  excitement  of  the  chase  commences. 

The  morning  sun  greets  the  hunter  divested  of  all 
unnecessary  clothing,  his  arrows  numbered—h.h  harness 
in  order — a  plume  floats  from  his  crown — his  long  hair 
streams  down  his  back — his  well-trained  horse,  as  wild 
as  himself,  anticipates  the  sport,  and  paws  with  impa- 
tience the  ground. 

Far,  far  in  the  horizon  are  moving  about,  in  black 
masses,  the  game ;  and  with  an  exulting  whoop,  a  party 
start  off  luith  the  ivind,  dash  across  the  prairie,  and  are 
soon  out  of  sight. 

The  buffalo  is  a  wary  animal ;  unwieldy  as  he  ap- 
pears, his  motions  are  quick,  and,  at  the  approach  of  a 
human  being,  he  instinctively  takes  the  alarm,  and  flies. 

An  hour  or  two  may  elapse,  when  the  distant  masses 
of  buffalo  begin  to  move.  There  is  evident  alarm  spread- 
ing through  the  ranks.     Suddenly  they  fly  ! 

Then  it  is  that  thousands  of  fleet  and  impatient 
horsemen,  like  messengers  of  the  wind,  dash  off  and 
meet  the  herds.  The  party  first  sent  out  are  pressing 
them  in  the   rear;  confusion   seizes  upon   the   alarmed 


BUFFALO    ULNTINti.  199 

animals,  and  tliey  scatter  in  every  direction  over  the 
plain.  Now  the  hunters  sdect  their  victims,  and  the 
blood  is  up.  On  speeds  the  Indian  and  his  horse.  The 
long  mane  mingles  with  the  liglit  garments  of  the  rider, 
and  both  seem  instigated  by  the  same  instinct  and  spi- 
rit. On  plunges  the  unwieldy  object  of  pursuit,  shaking 
his  shaggy  head,  as  if  in  despair  of  his  safety.  The 
speed  of  the  horse  soon  overtakes  tlic  buffalo. 

The  rider,  dropping  his  rein,  plucks  an  arrow  from 
his  quiver,  presses  his  knees  to  the  horse's  sides,  draws 
his  bow,  and  witli  unerring  aim,  drives  tlie  delicate  shaft 
into  the  vitals  of  the  huge  animal,  who  rushes  on  a  few 
yards,  curls  his  tail  upwards,  falters,  falls  on  his  face, 
and  *  dies.  An  exulting  shout  announces  the  success, 
and  the  warrior  starts  off  after  another  ;  and  if  he  has 
performed  his  task  well,  every  botv  that  has  twatigal^ 
marks  the  ownership  of  a  huge  carcass  upon  the  sea  of 
the  prairie,  as  sacredly  as  the  waiffe  of  the  whaleman 
his  victim  on  the  sea  itself. 

Thus,  when  the  day's  sport  is  over,  every  arrow  is 
returned  to  its  owner.  If  two  have  been  used  to  kill 
the  same  animal,  or  any  are  wanting,  having  been  car- 
ried away  in  mere  flesh  wounds  ;  the  want  of  skill  is  up- 
braided, and  the  unfortunate  hunter  shrinks  from  the 
sarcasms  ajid  observation  of  the  successful,  with  shame. 

Following  the  hunter  are  the  women,  the  laborers  of 
the  tribe.     To  them  is  allotted   the  task  of  tearing  off 


200         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

the  skiD,  selecting  the  choice  pieces  of  flesh,  and  pre- 
serving what  is  not  imraediatelj  consumed. 

Then  follows  the  great  feast.  The  Indian  gluts  him- 
self with  marrow  and  fatness,  his  eyes,  lately  so  bright 
with  the  fire  of  sport,  are  now  glazed  with  bestiality, 
and  he  spends  days  and  nights  in  wasteful  extravagance, 
trusting  to  the  abundance  of  nature  to  supply  the  wants 
of  the  future. 

Such  are  the  general  characteristics  of  the  buffalo 
hunt ;  and  the  view  applies  with  equal  truth  to  all  the 
different  tribes  who  pursue,  as  a  distinct  and  powerful 
people — this  noble  game. 

An  Indian  armed  for  the  buffalo  hunt,  and  his  horse, 
form  two  of  the  most  romantic  and  picturesque  of  be- 
ings. The  loose  garment  that  he  wears  is  beautifully 
arranged  about  his  person,  disclosing  the  muscles  of  the 
shoulder  and  chest.  Across  his  back  is  slung  his  quiver 
of  arrows,  made  from  the  skin  of  some  wild  animal ;  his 
long  bow,  slightly  arched  by  the  sinewy  string,  is  used 
gracefully  as  a  rest  for  his  extended  arm. 

The  horse,  with  a  fiery  eye — a  mane  that  waves  over 
his  front  like  drapery,  and  falls  in  rakish  masses  across 
his  wide  forehead — a  sweeping  tail  ornamented  with  the 
brilliant  plumage  of  tropical  birds  ;  champs  on  his  rude 
bit,  and  arches  his  neck  with  impatience,  as  the  scent 
of  the  game  reaches  his  senses.  Frequently  will  these 
graceful  Apollos  pass  before  you,  bounding  gracefully 


BUFFALO    HUNTING.  201 

along,  and  more  than  rivalling  the  beauty,  of  the  eques- 
trians portrayed  upon  the  Elgin  marbles. 

Then  there  may  be  seen  dashing  oflf  with  incredible 
swiftness,  a  living  representation  of  the  centaur ; — and 
as  one  of  these  wild  horses  and  wilder  men,  viewed  from 
below,  stand  in  broad  relief  against  the  clear  sky,  you 
see  an  equestrian  statue  that  art  has  never  equalled. 

The  exultation  of  such  a  warrior,  in  the  excitement 
of  a  buffalo  hunt,  rings  in  silvery  tones  across  the  plain, 
as  if  in  his  lungs  was  the  music  of  a  "  well  chosen 
pack ;  "'  the  huge  victims  of  pursuit,  as  they  hear  it,  im- 
pel onwards  with  redoubled  speed, — they  feel  that  a 
hurricane  of  death  is  in  the  cry. 

Take  a  hunting-party  of  fifty  "warriors,"  starting  on 
a  buflfalo  hunt.  Imagine  a  splendid  fall  morning  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  buffalo  "  grounds." 

The  sun  rises  over  the  prairie,  like  a  huge  illumi- 
nated ball ;  it  struggles  on  through  the  mists,  growing 
gradually  brighter  in  its  ascent,  breaking  its  way  into 
the  clear  atmosphere  in  long-reaching  rays,  dispelling 
the  mists  in  wreathing  columns,  and  starting  up  cur- 
rents of  air  to  move  them  sportively  about ;  slowly  they 
ascend  and  are  lost  in  the  ether  above. 

You  discover  before  you,  and  under  you,  a  rich  and 

beautifully  variegated  carpet,  enamelled  by  a   thousand 

flowers,  glistening  with  the  pearly  drops  of  dew,  as  the 

horizontal  rays  of  the  sun  reach  them. 

Here  and  there  are   plants  of  higher  growth,  as    if 
9* 


202         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

some  choice  garden  had  been  stripped  of  its  inclosures  : 
shrubbery  waves  the  pendant  blossom,  and  wastes  a 
world  of  sweetness  on  the  desert  air.  Among  these 
flowery  coverts  browse  the  graceful  deer  and  antelope. 

Far  before  you  are  the  long  dark  lines  of  the  buffalo. 
In  the  centre  of  the  group  feed  the  cows  and  calves. 
Upon  the  outside  are  the  sturdy  bulls  :  some  with  their 
mouths  to  the  ground,  are  making  it  shake  with  their 
rough  roar  ;  others  sportively  tear  up  the  turf  with  their 
horns  ^  others  not  less  playful,  rush  upon  each  other's 
horns  with  a  force  that  sends  them  reeling  on  their 
sides. 

Animal  enjoyment  seems  rife,  and  as  they  turn  their 
nostrils  upwards  and  snuff  in  the  balmy  air  and  greet  the 
warm  sun,  they  little  dream  that  around  them  are  circ- 
ling the  wild  Indian,  wilder — more  savage — and  more 
wary,  than  themselves. 

Fancy  these  Indians  prompted  by  all  the  habits  and 
feelings  of  the  hunter  and  warrior,  mingling  with  the  sport 
the  desire  to  distinguish  themselves,  as  on  a  field  of 
honor,  little  less  only  in  importance  than  the  war-path. 
With  characters  of  high  repute  to  sustain,  or  injured 
reputations  to  build  up — of  victory  for  the  ear  of  love 
— of  jealousy — of  base  passions — and  a  thirst  of  blood, 
and  you  will  have  some  idea  of  the  promptings  of  the 
hearts  of  those  about  to  engage  in  the  chase. 

The  time  arrives.  The  parties  already  out,  are  driv- 
ing the  herd  towards  the  starting-place   of  the  warriors. 


BUFFALO    HUNTING.  203 

They  have  sent  up  their  war-cry  in  one  united  whoop, 
which  has  startled  the  feeding  monsters,  as  if  the  light- 
ning had  fallen  among  them.  With  a  bellowing  re- 
sponse the  buflfalo  shake  their  heads,  and  simultaneously 
start  oflf. 

The  fearful  whoop  meets  them  at  every  point.  Con- 
fusion seizes  upon  the  herd.     The  sport  has  begun. 

In  every  direction  you  sec  the  unequal  chase  ;  the 
Indians  seem  multiplied  into  hundreds  ;  the  plain  be- 
comes dotted  over  with  the  dying  animals,  and  the  whoop 
rings  in  continuous  shouts  upon  the  air,  as  if  the  fiends 
themselves  were  loose. 

Now  you  see  a  single  warrior  :  before  him  is  rushing 
a  buflfalo,  which  shows  from  his  immense  size,  that  he 
is  one  of  the  masters  of  the  herd ;  his  pursuer  is  a 
veteran  hunter,  known  far  and  near  for  his  prowess. 

Yonder  go  some  twenty  buffalos  of  every  size,  pur- 
sued by  three  or  four  tyros,  who  yet  know  not  the  art  of 
separating  their  victim  from  the  herd. 

Yonder  goes  a  bull,  twice  shot  at,  yet  only  wounded 
in  the  flesh — some  one  will  havi'  to  iratlier  wood  with 
the  women  for  his  want  of  skill. 

There  goes  an  old  chief:  his  leggins  are  trimmed 
with  the  hair  of  twenty  scalps,  taken  from  the  heads  of 
the  very  Indians  on  whose  grounds  he  was  hunting  buf- 
falo ;  he  is  a  great  warrior  ;  he  sings,  that  his  bow  un- 
bent is  a  great  tree,  which  he  alone  can  bend.  See  the 
naked  arm,  and  the  rigid  muscles,  as  he  draws  the  arrow 


204         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

to  the  very  head  :  the  bull  vomits  blood  and  falls  :  be- 
yond him  on  the  grass  is  the  arrow ;  it  passes  through, 
where  a  rifle  ball  would  have  stopped  and  flattened  ere 
it  had  made  half  the  journey. 

Here  are  two  buffalo  bulls  side  by  side  ;  they  make 
the  earth  tremble  by  their  measured  tread ;  their  sides 
are  reeking  with  sweat.  Already  have  they  been  sin- 
gled out.  Approaching  them  are  two  horsemen ;  upon 
the  head  of  one  glistens  the  silvery  hair  of  age  ;  the 
small  leggins  also  betray  the  old  man  :  the  other  is  just 
entering  the  prime  of  life ;  every  thing  about  him  is 
sound,  full,  and  sleek.  The  old  man  compresses  his 
mouth  into  a  mere  line ;  the  eye  is  open  and  steady  as  a 
basilisk ;  the  skin  inanimate.  The  eyes  of  the  young 
man  dance  with  excitement,  the  blood  flows  quickly 
through  the  dark  skin ;  and  gives  a  feverish  look  to  his 
lip  and  cheek.  What  a  tale  is  told  in  these  differences 
of  look  !  how  one  seems  reaching  into  the  future,  and 
the  other  going  back  to  the  past ! 

He  of  the  flushed  cheek  touches  his  quiver,  the  bow 
is  bent,  the  arrow  speeds  its  way  and  penetrates  its  vic- 
tim. The  old  man — he  too  takes  an  arrow,  slowly  he 
places  it  across  his  bow,  then  bending  it  as  if  to  make 
its  ends  meet,  he  leans  forward — sends  the  arrow  home 
— the  bull  falls,  while  the  one  first  wounded  pursues  his 
way.  The  old  man  gives  a  taunting  shout  as  a  token 
of  his  success. 

The  young  warrior,  confused  by  his  want  of  skill, 


BUFFALO    HUNTING.  205 

and  alarmed  lest  his  aged  rival  should  complete  the 
work  he  so  bunglingly  began,  unguardedly  presses  too 
near  the  bull,  who,  smarting  with  his  wound,  turns  upon 
his  heels,  and,  with  one  mad  plunge,  tears  out  the  bow- 
els of  the  steed,  and  rolls  him  and  rider  on  the  iurf. 
He  next  rushes  at  the  rider. 

The  Indian,  wary  as  the  panther,  springs  aside,  and 
the  bull  falls  headlong  on  the  ground.  Ere  the  bull  re- 
covers himself,  the  bow  is  again  bent,  the  flint-headed 
arrow  strikes  the  hard  rib,  splits  it  asunder,  and  enters 
the  heart. 

The  old  warrior  has  looked  on  with  glazed  eye  and 
expressionless  face,  and  the  young  man  feels  that  he  has 
added  no  laurels  to  his  brow,  for  an  arrow  has  been 
spent  in  vain  and  his  steed  killed  under  him. 

There  goes  a  "  brave  "  with  a  bow  by  his  side,  and 
his  right  hand  unoccupied.  He  presses  his  horse  against 
the  very  sides  of  the  animal  which  he  is  pursuing.  Now 
he  leans  forward  until  he  seems  hidden  between  the  buf- 
falo and  his  horse.  He  rises ;  a  gory  arrow  is  in  his 
hand  ;  he  has  plucked  it  from  a  "  flesh  wound"  at  full 
speed,  and  while  in  luck,  has  with  better  aim  brought 
his  victim  to  the  earth. 

The  sun  is  now  fairly  in  its  zenith  :  the  buffiilos  that 
have  escaped  are  hurrying  away,  with  a  speed  that  will 
soon  carry  them  miles  beyond  the  hunter's  pursuit. 

The  Indians  are  coming  in  from  the  field.  The 
horses  breathe  hard  and  are   covered  with   foam.     The 


'206  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTEK. 

faces  of  the  Indians  are  still  lit  up  with  excitement,  that 
will  soon  pass  away,  and  leave  them  cold  and  expression- 
less. The  successful  hunters  spare  not  the  gibe  and 
joke  at  the  expense  of  the  unfortunate.  Slowly  they 
wend  their  way  back  to  '*'  the  encampment ;  "  their  work 
is  done. 

The  squaws,  who,  like  vultures,  follow  on  in  the  rear, 
eagerly  begin  their  disgusting  work.  The  maiden  is 
not  among  them  ;  slavery  commences  only  with  married 
life ;  but  the  old,  the  wrinkled,  the  viragoes  and  vixens, 
tear  off  the  skins,  jerk  the  meat,  gather  together  the 
marrow  bones,  and  the  humps,  the  tongues,  and  the 
paunch ;  and  before  the  sun  has  fairly  set,  they  are  in 
the  camp  with  the  rewards  of  the  day's  hunt. 

The  plain,  so  beautiful  in  the  morning,  is  scattered 
over  with  carcasses  already  offensive  with  decay;  the 
grass  is  torn  up,  the  flowers  destroyed ;  and  the  wolf  and 
buzzard  and  the  carrion  crow  are  disputing  for  the 
loathsome  meal,  while  their  already  gorged  appetites 
seem  bursting  with  repletion. 

As  might  be  supposed,  the  members  of  a  party 
of  adventurers  once  accustomed  to  the  luxuries  of 
refined  life,  and  who  had  recently  for  wrecks  slept  in  the 
open  air,  congratulated  themselves  when  they  discovered 
upon  the  distant  horizon  the  signs  that  mark  the  habita- 
tion of  a  "  squatter."  A  thousand  recollections  of  the 
comforts  of  civilized  life  pressed  upon  us  before  we 
reached  the  abode.     We  speculated  upon  the  rich  treat 


BUFFALO  hintim;.  .>07 

of  delicacies  which  we  should  enjoy,  but  a  near  inspection 
at  once  dispelled  our  illusions. 

On  the  conBnes  of  the  buffalo  hunting-grounds,  had 
settled  a  family,  consisting  of  a  strange  mixture  of  en- 
terprise and  idleness,  of  ragged-looking  men  and  homely 
women.  They  seemed  to  have  all  the  bad  habits  of  the 
Indians,  with  none  of  their  redeeming  qualities.  They 
were  willing  to  live  without  labor,  and  subsist  upon  the 
precarious  bounties  of  nature. 

Located  in  the  fine  climate  of  Northern  Tcxa.<,  the 
whole  year  was  to  them  little  less  than  a  continued 
spring,  and  the  abundance  of  game  with  which  they 
were  surrounded  aflforded,  what  seemed  to  them,  all  the 
comforts  of  life.  The  men  never  exerted  themselves 
except  when  hunger  prompted,  or  a  spent  magazine 
made  the  acquisition  of  "peltries"'  necessary  to  barter 
for  powder  and  ball. 

A  more  lazy,  contemptible  set  of  creatures  never 
existed,  and  we  would  long  since  have  forgotten  them, 
had  not  our  introduction  to  them  associated  itself  with 
our  first  buffalo  steak. 

A  large  rudely-constructed  shed,  boarded  up  on  the 
northern  side,  was  the  abode.  Upon  close  examination 
it  appeared  that  this  "  shed  "  was  the  common  dwelling- 
place  of  the  "  family,"  which  consisted  not  only  of  the 
human  beings,  but  also  of  horses,  cows,  goats,  and  ill- 
bred  poultry. 

Immediately  around    the    caravansera,  the    prairie 


208  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

grass  struggled  for  a  sickly  growth.  x\s  you  entered  it, 
you  found  yourself  growing  deej^er  and  deeper  in  a 
fine  dust,  that  had,  in  the  course  of  time,  been  worked 
out  of  the  soil.  Some  coarse  blankets  were  suspended 
through  the  enclosure,  as  retiring  rooms  for  the  women. 
On  the  ground  were  strewn  buffalo  skins,  from  which 
the  animal  inhabitants  alone  kept  aloof 

We  entered  without  seeing  a  human  being.  After 
some  delay,  however,  a  little  nondescript,  with  a  white 
sunburnt  head,  thrust  aside  the  blankets,  and  hallooed 
out,  "  They  ain't  injuns."  The  mother  then  showed 
herself  She  was  as  far  removed  from  feminine  as  pos- 
sible, and  appeared  as  unmoved  at  our  presence  as  the 
post  that  sustained  the  roof  of  her  house. 

We  asked  for  lodging  and  food ;  she  nodded  a  cold 
assent  and  disappeared.  Not  disposed  to  be  fastidious, 
we  endeavored  to  make  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  pos- 
sible, and  wait  for  the  development  of  coming  events. 

In  the  course  of  an  hour  a  woman  younger  than  the 
first  made  her  appearance,  and  on  hearing  the  detail  of 
our  wants,  she  wrinkled  her  soiled  visage  into  a  distort- 
ed smile,  and  told  us  that  the  "  men  "  would  soon  be 
home  with  "  buifalo  meat,"  and  then  our  wants  should 
be  supplied. 

Whatever  might  have  been  our  disappointment  at 
what  we  saw  around  us,  the  name  of  buffalo  meat  dis- 
pelled it  all.  The  great  era  in  our  frontier  wanderings 
was  about  to  commence,  and  with  smiles  from  our  party 


BUFFALO    HUNTlNfi.  200 

that  for  expression  would  have  done  credit  to  rival 
belles,  we  lounged  upon  the  skins  upon  the  ground. 

It  is  needless  for  us  to  say  what  were  our  ideas  of 
the  "  men,"  soon  to  make  their  appearance.  Buflfalo 
hunters  were,  of  course,  tall,  fine-looking  fellows — active 
as  cats — mounted  upon  wild  steeds — armed  with  terri 
ble  rifles,  and  all  the  paraphernalia  of  the  hunter's  art. 

The  Dutch  angels,  that  figure  so  conspicuously  on 
many  a  gem  of  art  in  the  ''  Lowlands,"  are  certainly  not 
farther  removed  from  the  beautiful  creations  of  Milton, 
than  were  the  buffalo  hunters  that  we  saw  from  the 
standard  our  imagination  and  reading  had  conjured  up. 

Two  short,  ill-formed  men  finally  appeared,  whose 
bow-legs,  formidable  shocks  of  red  hair,  clothes  of  skin, 
and  shuflfling  gaits,  were  the  realities  of  our  poetical 
conceptions. 

Whatever  might  have  been  the  charms  of  their  faces, 
our  admiration  was  absorbed  in  viewing  their  nether 
garments.  They  were  made  of  undressed  deer-skin,  the 
hair  worn  outside.  When  first  made,  they  were  evi- 
dently of  the  length  of  pantaloons,  but  the  drying  quali- 
ties of  the  sun  had,  in  course  of  time,  no  doubt  imper- 
ceptibly to  the  wearers,  shortened  them  into  the  dignity 
of  brtechos.  To  see  these  worthies  standing  up  was  be- 
yond comparison  ridiculous.  They  seemed  to  have  had 
immense  pommels  fastened  to  their  knees  and  seats. 

Under  other  circumstances,  the  tailor  craft  of  the 
frontier  would   have   elicited  great   merriment  ;  but  a 


210  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUiNTER. 

Starving  stomach  destroys  jokes.  Courtesies  suitable 
were  exchanged,  and  the  i^reliminaries  for  a  hearty 
meal  agreed  upon,  the  basis  of  which  was  to  be,  buffalo 
steaks. 

A  real  buffalo  steak  !  eaten  in  the  very  grounds 
which  the  animal  inhabits !  What  romance !  what  a 
diploma  of  a  sportsman's  enterprise  ! 

Whatever  might  have  been  my  disappointment  iu 
the  hunters,  I  knew  that  meat  was  meat,  and  that  the 
immutable  laws  of  nature  would  not  fail,  though  my 
ideas  of  the  romantic  in  men  were  entirely  disappointed. 
A  promise  that  our  wants  should  soon  be  supplied, 
brought  us  to  that  unpleasant  time,  in  every-day  life, 
which  prefaces  an  expected  and  wished-for  meal. 

Seated,  like  barbarians,  upon  the  floor,  myself  and 
companions  enjoyed  the  pleasing  mental  operation  of 
calculating  how  little  the  frontier  family  we  were  visit- 
ing were  worth,  for  any  moral  quality;  and  the  physical 
exercise  of  keeping  off,  as  much  as  possible,  thousands 
of  fleas,  and  other  noxious  insects,  that  infested  the  dust 
in  which  we  sat. 

While  thus  disposed  of,  the  "  hunters "  were  busy 
in  various  ways  about  the  premises,  and  received  from 
us  the  elegant  names  of  "  Bags  "  and  "  Breeches,"  from 
some  fancied  or  real  difference  in  their  inexpressibles. 
"  Breeches,"  who  was  evidently  the  business  man,  came 
near  where  we  were  sitting,  and  threw  down  upon  the 
ground,  what  appeared,  at  a  superficial  glance,  to  be  an 


IJIFFAI.O    HINTING. 


enormous  pair  of  saddlebag.s.  He  then  asked  his  com- 
panion-in-arms for  a  knife,  to  cut  for  the  strangers  some 
buffalo  steaks. 

Now  if  the  nondescript  before  me  had  as  coolly  pro. 
posed  to  cut  steaks  from  an  ill-natured  cur  that  was  wist- 
fully eyeing  the  saddle-bags,  no  more  surprise  could 
have  been  exhibited  by  my  companions  than  was,  when 
they  heard  the  suggestion. 

The  knife  was  brought,  and  "  Breet-hes  '  made  an 
essay  at  cutting  up  the  saddle-bags,  which  gave  him, 
dressed  as  he  was  in  skins,  the  appearance  of  a  wild  rob- 
ber just  about  to  searcli  the  effects  of  some  murdered 
traveller.  The  work  progressed  bravely,  and,  to  our 
surprise,  soon  were  exhibited  crude  slices  of  meat. 
What  we  saw  were  the  fleshy  parts  of  a  buffalo's  hams, 
ingeniously  connected  together  by  the  skin  that  passed 
over  the  back  of  the  animal,  and  so  dissected  from  the 
huge  frame  as  to  enable  it  easily  to  be  carried  on  a 
horse,  and  thus  brought  "  into  camp." 

As  the  sounds  that  accompany  the  frying  of  meat 
saluted  our  ears,  we  moved  into  the  open  air,  to  avoid 
the  certain  knowledge  that  we  were  about  to  complete 
the  eating  of  that  peck  of  dirt,  said  to  be  necessary  be- 
fore we  die.  Before  the  door  were  the  two  horses  be- 
longing to  our  hosts  ;  just  as  they  returned  from  the 
hunt,  and  upon  one  still  hung  huge  pieces  of  meat,  thus 
simply,  and  frontier  like,  held  together  for  transporta- 
tion. 


212  THE    IIIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

Our  first  bufi"alo  steak  disappointed  us.  The  ro- 
mance of  months — and  of  years — was  sadly  broken  in 
upon.  The  squalid  wretchedness  of  those  who  adminis- 
tered to  our  wants,  made  rebellious  even  our  hungry 
stomachs ;  and  we  spent  our  first  night  of  real  disap- 
pointment on  the  great  prairies,  under  circumstances 
which  we  thought,  before  our  sad  experience,  would 
have  afi"orded  us  all  the  substantial  food  for  body  and 
mind  that  we  could  have  desired. 


SCENES  IN  BUFFALO  HUNTING. 

Thc  morning  following  the  adventure  with  the  steak, 
found  our  little  party  rifles  in  hand,  and  bent  upon  a 
buffalo  hunt.  The  animals,  it  would  seem,  for  the  es- 
pecial benefit  of  ''  Breeches  "  and  "  Bags,''  had  come 
"  lower  down  "  than  usual,  and  we  were  among  the  buf- 
falo much  sooner  than  we  expected  to  be. 

So  far,  fortune  favored  us  ;  and  a  gayer  party  never 
set  out  on  a  frolic,  than  followed  the  deerskin  inexpres- 
sibles on  the  fine  December  morning  to  which  we  have 
alluded. 

As  we  jaunted  along,  crushing  a  thousand  wild 
flowers  under  our  horses'  feet,  the  deer  would  bound 
like  visions  of  grace  and  beauty  from  our  presence  ;  but 
we  essayed  not  such  small  game.  Our  ideas  and  nos- 
trils, expanded  by  the  associations  around  us ;  we  grew 
merry  at  the  thought  of  killing  bucks,  turkeys,  and  other 
he/pkss,  little  game,  and  laughed  so  loudly,  at  the  con- 


214         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  EEE-HUXTEK. 

ceit  of  drawing  a  deadly  weapon  upon  a  thing  as  small 
as  a  woodcock,  that  the  wild,  half  devil,  and  half  Indian 
horses  on  which  we  were  mounted,  pricked  up  their  ears 
and  tails,  as  if  they  expected  that  the  next  salute  would 
be  the  war-whoop  and  a  fight. 

Ahead  of  us  we  beheld  the  buzzards,  circling  in 
groups,  whirling  down  in  aerial  flights  to  the  earth,  as 
if  busy  with  their  prey.  We  passed  them  at  their  gross 
repast  over  a  mountain  of  meat,  which  had,  the  day  be- 
fore, been  full  of  life  and  fire,  but  had  fallen  under  the 
visitation  of  our  guides  and  scarecrows  ;  and  provided 
the  very  steaks  that  had  met  with  so  little  affection  from 
our  appetites.  Soon  we  disc-overed  signs  of  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  buffalo,  and  on  a  little  examination  from 
the  top  of  a  "swell  of  land,"  we  saw  them  feeding  off 
towards  the  horizon,  like  vast  herds  of  cattle  quietly 
grazing  within  the  inclosure  of  the  farm-yard. 

As  distant  as  they  were,  our  hearts  throbbed  violently 
as  we  contemplated  the  sanguinary  warfare  we  were 
about  to  engage  in,  and  the  waste  of  life  that  would 
ensue. 

Still,  we  were  impelled  on  by  an  irresistible  and 
overpowering  instinct  to  begin  the  hunt. 

"  Breeches  "  and  "  Bags  "  carried  over  their  shoulders 
poles  about  six  feet  long ;  but  as  they  were  destitute  of 
any  visible  spear,  we  looked  upon  them  as  inoffensive 
weapons,  and  concluded  that  they  had  come  out  just  to 
act  as  guides.      In  fact,  we  could  not  imagine  that  such 


SCENES    IN    BL'FKALO    HINTING.  ii  1 5 

wretched-looking  fellows,  so  badly  mounted,  could  hunt 
any  thing. 

For  ourselves,  we  were  armed  with  the  terrible  rifle  : 
and  so  satisfied  were  we  of  its  prowess,  that  we  thought 
the  very  appearance  of  its  muzzle  more  deadly  than  the 
demonstrated  use  of  all  other  weapons  beside. 

Keeping  to  the  windward  of  the  buflfalo,  we  skirted 
round  until  we  got  them  between  us  and  the  shed  where- 
in we  passed  the  night. 

Then  the  signal  was  given,  and  in  a  pell-mell  manner 
we  charged  on,  every  man  for  himself  We  approached 
within  a  (juarter  of  a  mile  before  the  herd  took  the 
alarm. 

Then,  smelling  us  on  the  air,  they  turned  their  noses 
towards  the  zenith,  gave  a  sort  of  rough  snort,  and  broke 
simultaneously  off  at  a  full  gallop.  As  soon  as  this 
noise  was  heard  by  our  horses,  they  increased  their 
speed,  and  entered  into  the  sport  as  ardently  as  their 
riders. 

The  rough  beasts  rode  by  "Bags"  and  "Breeches" 
did  wonders,  and  seemed  really  to  fly,  while  their  riders 
poised  themselves  gallantly,  carrying  their  long  poles  in 
front  of  them  with  a  grace,  from  the  excitement  of  the 
moment,  that  would  have  honored  a  Cossack  bearing  his 
spear. 

The  buffalo,  with  their  tails  high  in  the  air,  ran  close 
together,  rattling  their  horns  singularly  loud  ;  while  the 


216  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

horses,  used  to  the  chase,  endeavored    to    separate   a 
single  object  for  especial  pursuit. 

This  once  accomplished,  it  was  easy  to  range  along- 
side ;  and  in  this  situation  the  members  of  our  party 
severally  found  themselves ;  and  drawing  deadly  aim,  as 
they  supposed,  the  crack  of  the  sharp  rifle  was  heard 
over  the  prairies,  and  yet  nothing  was  brought  to  the 
ground.  Contrary  to  all  this,  a  noble  bull  lay  helpless  in 
the  very  track  I  took,  the  fruit  of  "  Breeches' '-  murderous 
skill;  and  from  the  energetic  manner  with  which  he 
pressed  on,  we  became  satisfied  that  there  was  a  magic 
in  those  sticks  we  had  not  dreamed  of 

Our  curiosity  excited,  we  ran  across  the  diameter 
of  a  circle  he  was  forming,  and  came  by  his  side.  Soon 
he  overtook  his  object  of  pursuit,  and  thrusting  forward 
his  pole,  we  saw  glittering,  for  the  first  time,  on  its  end 
a  short  blade ;  a  successful  thrust  severed  the  hamstring^ 
and  a  mountain  of  flesh  and  life  fell  helpless  on  the 
prairie.  The  thing  was  done  so  suddenly,  that  some 
moments  elapsed  before  we  could  overcome  our  astonish- 
ment. My  horse  approached  the  animal,  and  thrusting 
forward  his  head  and  ears,  snorted  in  his  face,  and  then 
commenced  quietly  cropping  the  grass. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  mo  to  describe  my  emo- 
tions as  I,  dismounting,  examined  the  gigantic  and 
wounded  bull  before  me.  There  lie  lay — an  animal,  that 
from  his  singular  expression  of  face  and  general  appear- 
ance, joined  with  his  immense  size,  looked  like  some  an- 


SCENES    IN    BUFFALO    HUNTING.  217 

imated  specimen  of  the  monsters  of  the  antediluvian 
world. 

Rising  on  his  fore  legs,  he  shook  his  mane  and 
beard  in  defiance,  and  flashed  from  his  eyes  an  uncon- 
querable determination  terrible  to  behold. 

Gazing  upwards,  we  beheld,  fearfully  caricatured, 
the  shaggy  trappings  of  the  lion,  and  the  wild  fierceness 
of  a  perfect  savage,  the  whole  rising  above  us  in  huge 
unwieldy  proportions.  He  made  no  demonstration  of 
attack,  his  usual  expression  of  defiance  had  changed  into 
that  of  seeming  regret  and  heartsick  pain  ;  his  small 
bright  eye  roamed  over  the  beautiful  prairie,  and 
watched  the  retreating  herds  of  his  fellows,  as  would 
an  old  patriarch  when  about  to  bid  adieu  to  the  world ; 
and  as  the  dying  creature  gazed  on,  the  tear  struggled 
in  his  eye,  rolled  over  the  rough  sunburnt  hair,  dashed 
like  a  bright  jewel  from  his  knolK;ed  beard,  and  fell  to 
the  ground. 

This  exhibition  of  sufi'criiig  iititure  cooled  the  warm 
blood  of  the  hunt  within  me ;  the  instinct  of  destruction 
was,  for  the  time,  overpowered  by  that  of  better  feelings, 
and  could  we  have  restored  to  health  the  wounded  ani- 
mal, it  would  have  given  us  a  thrill  of  real  pleasure  to 
have  seen  him  again  free,  and  bounding  over  the  plain. 

Instead  of  this,  we  took  from  our  belt  a  pistol,  called 
upon  mercy  to  sanction  our  deed,  and  sent  the  cold  lead 
through  the  thoughtful  eye  into  the  brain  :  the  body 
sank   u])on    its  kuoi-s.   in   r«':idy  aoknowledgment  of  the 


218         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

power  of  man  ;  the  lieavy  head  plunged  awkwardly  to 
the  ground ;  a  tremulous  motion  passed  through  the 
frame — and  the  wild  monarch  was  dead. 

The  momentary  seriousness  of  mj^  own  feelings,  oc- 
casioned by  the  incidents  above  related,  was  broken  in 
upon  by  a  loud  exulting  whoop,  prolonged  into  a  quaver- 
ing sound,  such  as  will  sometimes  follow  a  loud  blast  of 
a  trumpet  at  the  mouth  of  an  expert  player. 

It  was  a  joyous  whoop,  and  vibrated  through  our 
hearts — we  looked  up,  and  saw  just  before  us  a  young 
Indian  warrior,  mounted  upon  a  splendid  charger,  and 
rushing  across  the  plain,  evidently  in  pursuit  of  the  re- 
treating buffalo. 

As  he  swept  by,  he  threw  himself  forward  in  his  sad- 
dle, and  placed  his  right  hand  over  his  eyes,  as  if  to 
shade  them  from  the  sun,  making  a  picture  of  the  most 
graceful  and  eager  interest. 

His  horse  carried  his  head  low  down,  running  like  a 
rabbit,  while  the  long  flowing  mane  waved  in  the  wind  like 
silk.  Horse  and  rider  were  almost  equally  undressed  ; 
both  wiry;  and  every  muscle,  as  it  came  into  action, 
gave  evidence  of  youth  and  power.  Over  the  horse's 
head,  and  inwrought  in  the  hair  of  the  tail,  streamed 
plumes  plucked  from  the  gay  flamingo.  Every  thing 
was  life — moving,  dashing  life — gay  as  the  sunshine  that 
glistens  on  the  rippling  wave  where  the  falcon  wets  his 
wing. 

This  soul-stirring  exhibition  warmed  us  into  action, 


SCENES  IN  BUFFALO  HUNTING.  '21l» 

and,  mounting  our  horses,  we  dashed  after  the  red  man. 
Our  direction  soon  broii^dit  us  in  sight  of  the  retreating 
bufl'alo  ;  and,  with  the  Indian  and  m}stlf.  dnslud  on  a 
third  person,  the  valiant  ''  Breeches." 

I  foHowed  as  a  spectator,  and  keeping  close  to  both, 
was  enabled  to  watch  two  beings  so  widely  different  in 
form,  looks,  and  action,  while  bent  on  tlio  sanio  exciting 
pursuit. 

Fortunately,  two  buifalos  of  large  size,  cut  off  from 
the  main  body,  were  being  driven  towards  us  by  some 
one  of  our  party  :  a  distant  report  of  a  rifle,  and  the  sud- 
den stopping  of  one  of  the  animals,  told  the  tale. 

The  remaining  bull,  alarmed  by  the  report  of  the 
rifle,  rushed  madly  on,  with  enemies  in  front  and  rear. 
Discovering  its  new  danger,  it  wheeled  almost  on  its 
heels  and  ran  for  life.  Whatever  miit^ht  have  been  our 
vivid  imaginings  of  the  excitement  of  a  buffiilo  chase, 
we  now  felt  the  fruition  beyond  our  most  sanguine 
hopes. 

Before  us  ran  the  buflfalo,  then  followed  the  Indian, 
and  beside  liim  "  Breeches,"  so  closely  that  you  would 
have  thought  a  dark  Apollo  on  a  mettled  charger,  had 
by  some  necromancy  cast  the  shadow  of  a  cornfield  scare- 
crow. We  soon  gained  on  the  bufl'alo,  rapidly  as  he 
moved  his  feet  under  him.  "  Breeches  "  poised  his  rude 
instrument  to  make  the  fearful  cut  at  the  hamstrings, 
when  the  Indian,  plucking  a)i  arrow  from  his  quiver, 
bent  his    bow,   and    pointing    it   at  "  Brtecdies' "  side, 


220  THE   HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 


let    it    fly.      The   stick   held    by    "Breeches" 


leaped  from  his  grasp  as  if  it  had  been  struck  by  a  club  ; 
another  instant,  and  again  the  bow  was  bent ;  guiding 
his  horse  with  his  feet,  the  Indian  came  alongside  of  the 
buffalo,  and  drove  the  arrow  to  the  feather  into  his 
side. 

A  chuckling  guttural  laugh  followed  this  brilliant 
exploit,  and  as  the  animal,  after  a  few  desperate  leaps, 
fell  forward  and  vomited  blood,  again  was  repeated  the 
same  joyous  whoop  that  so  roused  our  stagnant  blood  at 
the  beginning  of  the  chase. 

'  The  instant  that  "  Breeches  "  dropped  his  stick,  his 
horse,  probably  from  habit,  stopped;  and  the  one  on 
which  I  rode  followed  the  example.  The  Indian  dis- 
mounted, and  stood  beside  the  buffalo  tlie  instant  he  fell. 
The  shaggy  and  rough  appearance  of  the  dead  animal — 
the  healthy-looking  and  ungroomed  horse  with  his  roving 
eye  and  long  mane — and  the  Indian  himself,  contem- 
plating his  work  like  some  bronze  statue  of  antique  art 
— formed  a  group,  the  simplicity  and  beautiful  wildness 
of  which  would  have  struck  the  eye  of  the  most  in- 
sensible. 

"  Breeches,"  alike  insensible  to  the  charms  of  the 
tailor's  art,  and  to  the  picturesque — handed  the  Indian 
his  first  fired  arrow,  and  then  stooping  down,  with  a 
gentle  pressure,  thrust  the  head  of  the  one  in  the  buf- 
falo through  the  opposite  side  from  which  it  entered, 
and  handed  it  to  its  owner,  with  disgust  marked  upon 


^'  •  -PM.|.i..-,,v  ;.„.i  i„;„„ii„|  Ml|,liu-»*j,!„.,.t  iIk-t..„|,  ,|,a-    ,..„M 


SCENES    IN    BUFFALO    HUNTING.  221 

his  face,  that  disphiycd  no  great  pleasure  at  the  Indian's 
appearance  and  company. 

Among  the  Indian  tribes  there  are  certain  styles  of 
doing  things,  which  are  as  essential  to  command  the  at- 
tention and  win  the  favor  of  a  real  hunter,  as  there  are 
peculiar  manners  and  modes  commended,  and  only  ac- 
knowledged, by  sportsmen. 

A  poor  despicable  tribe,  bearing  the  name  of  Ta-wa- 
ki-na,  inhabiting  the  plains  of  Texas,  kill  the  buffalo  by 
hamstringing  them,  and  are,  therefore,  despised  and 
driven  out  from  among  the  "  Indian  men." 

A  young  Comanche  chief,  fond  of  adventure,  and 
friendly  with  "  Breeches,"  had  gone  out  of  his  way  to 
join  in  our  sport ;  and  having  shown  to  the  white  man 
his  skill,  and  for  "  Breeches  "  his  contempt  for  his  imita- 
tions of  a  despised  tribe,  he  passed  on  in  pursuit  of  his 
own  business,  either  of  war  or  of  pleasure. 

The  experience  of  our  first  buffalo  ^unt  satisfied  us 
that  tlie  rifle  was  not  the  most  effective  instrument  in 
destroying  the  animal.  The  time  consumed  in  loading 
the  rifle  is  suflBcient  for  an  Indian  to  shoot  several  ar- 
rows, while  the  arrow  more  ([uickly  kills  than  the 
bullet. 

As  the  little  party  to  which  I  was  attached  had 
more  notions  of  fun  than  any  particular  method  of 
hunting,  a  day  was  set  apart  for  a  buffalo  hunt,  "  Ta- 
wa-ki-na  fashion,"  and  for  this  purj)0se  rifles  were  laid 
aside,  and  polos  about  seven  feet  long,  with  razor  blades 


222         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

fastened  on  them  a  few  inches  from  the  end,  so  as  to 
form  a  fork,  were  taken  in  their  place.  Arriving  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  buffalo,  those  who  were  disposed  entered 
into  the  sport  pell-mell. 

Like  a  faithful  squire  I  kept  close  at  the  heels  of 
"  Breeches,"  who  soon  brought  a  fine  young  heifer  bel- 
lowing to  the  ground.  As  the  animal  uttered  sounds 
of  pain,  one  or  two  fierce-looking  bulls  that  gallantly 
followed  in  the  rear,  exposing  themselves  to  attack  to 
preserve  the  weaker  members  of  the  herd,  stopped 
short  for  an  instant,  and  eyed  us  with  most  unpleasant 
curiosity.  This  roused  the  knight  of  the  deer-skin 
breeches ;  and,  brandishing  his  stick  over  his  head  with 
a  remarkable  degree  of  dexterity,  he  dashed  off  as  if  de- 
termined to  slay  both  at  once. 

My  two  companions  who  started  out  as  Ta-wa-ki-nas, 
had  done  but  little  execution,  not  understanding  their 
work,  or  alarmed  at  so  near  an  approach  of  the  animals 
they  wounded,  without  bringing  them  to  the  earth.  As 
"  Breeches "  dashed  on  after  the  bulls,  he  severally 
crossed  the  route  of  all  who  were  on  the  chase  ;  and  as 
he  was  unquestionably  the  hero  of  the  day,  all  followed 
in  his  train,  determined  to  see  hamstringing  done  sci- 
entifically. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  in  the  formation  of  the  buffalo, 
and  the  familiar  cattle  of  the  farm-yard,  that,  although 
so  much  alike  in  general  appearance,  the  domesticated 
animal  will,  after  being  hamstrung,  run  long  distances. 


SCENES    IN    BUFFALO    HUNTING.  2SS 

The  buffalo,  on  the  contrary,  the  moment  that  the  ten- 
don is  severed,  falls  to  the  ^iround  entirely  helpless,  and 
perfectly  harmless  to  one  beyond  the  reach  of  its  horns. 
A  very  short  chase  in  company  with  "  Breeches," 
brought  us  up  to  one  of  the  bulls ;  he  poised  his  stick, 
thrust  it  forward,  and  the  tendon  Achilles^  full  of  life 
and  full  of  action,  was  touched  by  the  sharp  blade ;  its 
tension,  as  it  sustained  the  immense  bull  in  his  upward 
leaps,  made  it,  when  severed,  spring  back  as  will  the 
breaking  string  of  the  harp;  and  the  helpless  beast, 
writhing  in  pain,  came  to  the  ground. 

One  of  our  party  on  witnessing  this  exhibition,  gave 
an  exulting  shout,  and  declared  that  he  would  bring  a 
buffalo  down  or  break  his  neck ;  he  soon  came  beside  a 
venerable  bull,  and  as  he  made  repeated  thrusts,  a  thou- 
sand directions  were  given  him  as  to  the  manner  of  pro- 
ceeding. The  race  was  a  well  contested  one,  and  the 
heels  of  the  pursued  animal  were  strangely  accelerated 
by  the  thrusts  made  at  him  in  his  rear. 

A  lunge  was  finally  accomplished  by  the  "  Ta-vra-ki- 
na,"  that  almost  threw  him  from  his  horse ;  the  fearful 
cut  brought  the  huge  bull  directly  under  the  rider's 
feet ;  the  next  instant  the  noble  steed  was  impaled  upon 
the  buffalo's  horns,  and  the  unfortunate  rider  lay  in- 
sensible on  the  ground.  In  the  excitement,  the  wrong 
hamstring  had  been  cut,  and,  as ^  the  animal  always  falls 
upon  the  wounded  side,  the  mistake  had  caused  the  bull 
to  become  a  stumbling  block  in  his  path. 


224         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

We  hastened  to  our  unfortunate  companion,  chafed 
his  temples,  and  brought  him  to  his  senses.  Happily, 
save  the  loss  of  a  generous  steed,  no  great  damage  was 
done.  The  "  Ta-wa-ki-na  "  acknowledged  that  hamstring- 
ing buffalo  was  as  contemptible,  as  it  was  thought  to  be 
by  the  Comanche  chief.  Thus  ended  this  novel  and 
barbarian  hunt,  which  afforded  incidents  for  many 
rough  jokes  and  amusing  reflections  on  hamstringing 
buffalos. 

As  a  reward  for  these  frontier  sports  it  is  but  just 
to  say,  that  we  feasted  plentifully  upon  buffalo  steaks, 
marrow  bones,  humps,  and  tongues ;  yet  surfeited  as  was 
the  body,  the  mind  was  not  satisfied. 

There  was  a  waste  of  life  and  of  food  accompanying 
the  hunting  of  the  animal,  that,  like  an  ever-present 
spirit  of  evil,  took  away  from  our  enjoyment  that  zest 
which  is  necessary  to  make  it  a  favorite  sport. 


WOODCOCK  FIRE-HUNTING. 

"Tis  niurderoua,  but  prollUiblo."— 7bm  Otcen. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  "  legitimate  "  amusements 
of  gentlemen,  is  woodcock  shooting.  In  the  "  back- 
woods," where  game  of  every  kind  is  plentiful,  it  is  pur- 
sued as  often  as  a  necessary  of  life,  as  for  the  gratifica- 
tion afi*orded  by  the  sport. 

Persons  living  in  the  hotbeds  of  civilization,  but 
Vho  yet  retain  enough  of  the  old  leaven  of  the  wild  man, 
to  love  to  destroy  the  birds  of  the  air,  and  the  beasts  of 
the  field,  are  obliged  to  eke  out  the  excitements  of  the 
field  by  conventional  rules,  which  prescribe  the  manner 
of  killing,  the  weapon  to  be  used,  and  the  kind  of  dog 
to  be  employed  ; — and  the  sportsman  who  is  most  correct 
in  all  these  named  particulars,  is  deservedly  a  "  celeb- 
rity "  in  his  day  and  generation. 

No  sport  is  more  properly  guarded  and  understood 
by  amateur  hunters  than  woodcock  shooting,  and  no 
sport  is  more  esteemed.  Therefore,  it  was  that  the  an- 
nouncement that  there  was  a  section  of  the  United 
10» 


226         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

States  where  the  game  bird  was  hunted  by  torchlight, 
and  killed  "  without  the  benefit  of  clergy,"  created  the 
same  sensation  among  the  "  legitimists,"  as  is  felt  at  Saint 
Germain's,  because  there  is  "  no  Bourbon  on  the  throne" 
— a  thrill  of  horror  pervaded  the  hearts  of  many  who 
could  believe  such  a  thing  j^^ssible — while  the  more 
"  strait  laced "  and  deeply  conscientious,  disbelieved 
entirely,  and  pronounced  the  report  too  incredible 
for  any  thing  but  a  "  hoax."  Yet,  woodcock  fire-hunting 
is  a  fact,  although  most  circumscribed  in  its  geographical 
limits,  the  reasons  for  which,  will  appear  in  the  attempt 
at  a  description  of  the  sport. 

"Woodcock  fire-hunting  is  almost  entirely  confined  to 
a  narrow  strip  of  country  running  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  up  the  river  about  three  hundred  miles.  This 
narrow  strip  of  country  is  the  rich  and  thickly  settled  land 
that  borders  on  the  river,  and  which  varies  from  one  to 
three  miles  in  width  ;  it  is  in  fact  nothing  but  the  ridge 
or  high  ground  that  separates  the  Mississippi  from  the 
interminable  swamps,  that  compose  so  great  a  portion  of 
the  State  of  Louisiana. 

The  habits  of  the  woodcock  make  it  entirely  a  noc- 
turnal bird  ;  it  retires  into  these  swamps  that  border  its 
feeding  grounds  during  the  day,  and  is  perfectly  safe 
from  interruption  ;  hidden  among  the  tangled  vines, 
cane-brakes,  and  boggy  land,  it  consults  alike  its  pleasure 
and  safety;  finds  convenient  places  for  its  nests,  and 
raises  its  young,  with  the  assurance  of  being  undisturb- 


WOODCOCK    FIRE  HUNTING.  227' 

ed.  As  a  matter  of  course  they  increase  rapidly,  until 
these  solitudes  Ijccome  alive  with  their  simple  murmur- 
ing note ;  and  when  evening  sets  in,  they  fill  the  high 
land  which  we  have  described,  in  numbers  which  can 
scarcely  be  imagined  by  any  one  except  an  eye-witness. 

Another  cause,  probably,  of  their  being  so  numerous 
in  this  section  of  the  country  may  be  owing  to  their  mi- 
gratory habits,  as  the  bird  is  seen  as  far  north  as  the 
river  St.  Lawrence  in  summer,  and  we  presume  that  these 
very  birds  return  for  their  winter  residence  in  Louisiana 
in  the  very  months  when  "  fire-hunting "  is  practised, 
which  is  in  the  latter  part  of  December,  January,  and 
the  first  part  of  February. 

Yet,  a  resident  in  the  vicinity  or  among  the  haunts 
of  these  birds,  may  live  a  life  through,  and  make  day 
hunting  a  business,  yet  be  unconscious  that  woodcock 
inhabit  his  path ;  so  much  is  this  the  case,  that  I  do 
not  know  of  the  birds  ever  being  hunted,  in  the  common 
and  universal  way,  in  the  places  where  fire-hunting  them 
is  practised. 

This  novel  sport,  we  presume,  originated  among  the 
descendants  of  the  French,  who  originally  settled  on  the 
whole  tract  of  country  bordering  on  the  Mississippi,  as 
high  up  as  it  favors  this  kind  of  sport.  Here  it  is,  that 
"  Beccasse  "  forms  a  common  dish  when  in  season,  in 
which  the  poor  and  the  wealthy  indulge  as  a  luxury,  too 
common  to  be  a  variety,  and  too  excellent  not  to  be  al- 
ways welcome. 


■228         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

"With  these  preliminaries  let  us  prepare  for  the 
sport. 

Provide  yourself  with  a  short  double-barrelled  fowl- 
ing-piece of  small  bore ;  let  your  ammunition  be  first-rate, 
and  have  something  the  size  of  a  small  thimble  where- 
with to  measure  out  your  load  of  mustard  shot.  Let 
your  powder  be  in  a  small  flask,  but  keep  your  shot  loose 
with  your  measure,  in  the  right  side  pocket  of  your 
shooting  jacket — and,  astonished  sportsman !  leave  thy 
noble  brace  of  dogs  shut  up  in  their  kennels  ;  for  we 
would  hunt  woodcock,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  with- 
out them. 

In  the  place  of  the  dogs  we  will  put  a  stout  negro, 
who  understands  his  business,  burdened  with  what  re- 
sembles an  old-fashioned  warming-pan,  but  the  bottom, 
instead  of  the  top,  pierced  with  holes ;  in  this  pan  are 
small  splinters  of  pine  knot,  and  we  denominate  this,  the 
Torch.  Then  put  on  the  broad-brimmed  palmetto  hat, 
so  that  it  will  shade  your  eyes,  and  keep  them  from 
alarming  the  birds.  Now,  follow  me  down  into  any  of 
the  old  fields  that  lie  between  the  river  and  the  swamp, 
while  the  ladies  can  stand  upon  spacious  galleries  that 
surround  the  house,  and  tell  by  the  quick  report  of 
guns  our  success  ;  the  streaming  light  from  "  the  torch," 
will,  to  them,  from  the  distance,  look  like  an  ignis  fatuus 
dancing  the  cachuca  in  the  old  field. 

It  is  in  the  middle  of  January,  the  night  is  a  favor- 
able one,  the  weather  rather  warm,  the  thermometer  says 


WOODCOCK    FIRE-IIUNTING.  229 

"  temperate,"  and  the  fog  rolls  off  the  cold  water  into 
the  river  like  steam  ;  an  old  "  fire-liunter  "  says,  '•  this  is 
just  the  night." 

Wliiz — whiz — hallo  !  What's  here  ?  Sambo  strike 
a  light,  and  hoist  it  over  your  head.  Now,  friend,  place 
yourself  behind  the  torch,  on  the  left,  both  of  us  in  the 
rear  to  court  the  shade.  Now,  torch-bearer,  lead  on. 
Whiz — bang — whiz,  bang — two  woodcock  in  a  minute. 
Bang,  bang.  Heavens,  this  is  murder !  Don't  load  too 
heavy — let  your  charges  be  mere  squibs,  and  murder 
away, — the  sport  is  fairly  up. 

The  birds  show  plainly  from  three  to  ten  paces  all 
around  you,  and  you  can  generally  catch  them  on  the 
ground,  but  as  they  rise  slowly  and  perpendicularly 
from  the  glare  of  the  light,  wifll  a  flickering  motion, 
you  can  bring  them  down  before  they  start  off  like  ar- 
rows into  the  surrounding  darkness.  Thank  the  stars 
they  do  not  fly  many  paces  before  they  again  alight,  so 
that  you  can  follow  the  same  bird  or  birds  until  every  one 
is  destroyed.  Bang,  bang — how  exciting — don't  the  birds 
look  beautiful  as  they  stream  up  into  the  light  ;  the 
slight  reddish  tinge  of  their  head  and  breast  shining  for 
an  instant  in  the  glare  of  the  torch  like  fire. 

Ha!  see  that  stream  of  gold,  bang — and  we  have  a 
meadow-lark,  the  bright  yellow  of  its  breast  being  more 
beautiful  than  the  dull  colors  of  the  woodcock.  And  I 
see,  friend,  you  have  bagged  a  quail  or  two.  Well, 
such  things  occasionally  happen.     Two  hours  sport,  and 


230         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

we  have  killed  between  us  nearly  thirty  birds.  With 
old  bunters  the  average  is  always  more,  and  a  whole 
night's  labor,  if  successful,  is  often  rewarded  with  a 
round  hundred. 

Practice  and  experience,  as  a  matter  of  course,  have 
much  to  do  with  success  in  this  sport,  but  less  than  in 
any  other ;  for  we  have  known  tyros,  on  one  or  two  occa- 
sions, to  do  very  well  with  clubs;  while  the  negroes 
have  thrashed  them  down  by  ''  baskets-full "  with  whips 
made  of  bundles  of  young  cane,  the  birds  being  so  thick 
that  some  could  be  brought  down  even  in  this  way,  while 
endeavoring,  in  their  confusion,  to  get  out  of  the  glare 
of  the  torch. 

This  fact,  and  the  quantity  of  birds  killed,  attest  to 
the  extraordinary  numbers  that  inhabit  this  particular 
section  of  country. 

Let  the  birds,  however,  be  less  numerous  than  we 
have  described,  and  they  are  on  some  days  more  plenti- 
ful than  on  others,  and  one  who  is  a  good  shot,  in  the  or- 
dinary way  of  hunting  the  bird,  has  only  to  overcome  his 
astonishment,  and  we  will  add,  horror,  at  the  mode  in 
which  he  sees  his  favorite  game  killed,  to  be  a  perfect 
master  of  woodcock  fire-hunting  under  all  circumstances. 
It  is  common  with  those  who  are  fond  of  sport,  and 
have  some  sentiment  about  them,  never  to  fire  until  the 
bird  rises,  and  then  to  bring  down  a  bird  with  each 
barrel.  s 

This  requires  quick  shooting,  as  the  torch  only  sheds 


WOODCOCK    FIRE-nUNTlNG.  231 

an  available  light  in  a  circle  of  about  twenty  yards  in 
diameter.  Parties  are  frequently  made  up  who  hunt 
during  a  given  number  of  hours,  and  the  destruction  of 
the  birds  on  these  occasions  is  almost  beyond  belief. 

These  parties  afford  rare  sport,  and  are  often  kept 
up  all  night. 

When  this  is  the  case,  the  sportMiKiu  not  unfre- 
quently  sleeps  to  so  late  an  hour  in  the  day  that  he  has 
only  time  to  rise,  sip  a  cup  of  strong  coffee,  and  leisurely 
dress  for  dinner,  when  it  is  announced  as  ready,  and 
woodcock,  plentiful  to  wasting,  are  smoking  on  the  board 
before  him. 

Such  a  dinner,  the  dullest  intellect  can  imagine,  is  a 
repast  both  for  sense  and  soul, — for  woodcock  and  wit 
are  synonymous. 


THE 

WATER  CRAFT   OF   THE   BACK-WOODS. 

Starting  amid  the  volcanic  precipices,  eternal  snows, 
and  arid  deserts  of  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  the  Snake 
River  winds  its  sinuous  way  towards  the  Pacific  ;  at  one 
time,  rushing  headlong  through  the  deep  gorges  of  the 
mountains,  and  at  another,  spreading  itself  out  in  still 
lakes,  as  it  sluggishly  advances  through  ever-vary- 
ing scenes  of  picturesque  grandeur  and  of  voluptuous 
softness. 

In  all  this  variety, ifce  picture  only  changes  from  the 
beautiful  to  the  sublime ;  while  the  eye  of  the  civilized 
intruder,  as  it  speculates  on  the  future,  can  see  on  the 
Snake  River,  the  city,  the  village,  and  the  castle,  in  situ- 
ations more  interesting  and  more  romantic  than  they 
have  ever  yet  presented  themselves  to  the  world. 

The  solitary  trapper  and  the  wild  Indian  are  now 
the  sole  inhabitants  of  its  beautiful  shores ;  the  wigwams 
of  the  aborigine,  the  temporary  lodge  of  the  hunter  and 


WATEII-CIIAFT    OF    THE    IJAt'K- WOODS.  ^oo 

the  cunning  beaver,  rear  themselves  almost  side  by  side, 
and  nature  reposes  like  a  virgin  bride  in  all  her  beauty 
and  loveliness,  soon  to  be  stripped  of  her  natural  charms 
to  fulfil  new  offices  with  a  new  existence. 

On  an  abrupt  bank  of  this  beautiful  stream,  overlook- 
ing the  surrounding  landscape  for  miles — a  spot  of  all 
others  to  be  selected  for  a  eite  of  beauty  and  defence, 
might  be  seen  a  few  lodges  of  the  "Wallawallah  In- 
dians. 

On  the  opposite  shore  stood  a  fine  young  warrior, 
decked  in  all  the  tinsel  gewgaws  which  his  savage  fancy 
had  suggested,  to  catch  the  love  of  liis  mistress.  With 
stealthy  steps  he  opened  the  confused  undergrowth  that 
lined  the  banks,  and  taking  therefrom  a  delicate  paddle, 
he  fruitlessly  searched  until  the  truth  flashed  upon  him, 
that  some  rival  had  stolen  bis  canoe.  Readily  would  he 
have  dashed  into  the  bosom  of  the  swollen  river,  and,  as 
another  Leander,  sought  another  Hero,  but  his  dress  was 
not  to  be  thus  spoiled.  Like  a  chafed  lion  he  walked 
along  the  shore,  his  bosom  altcpnately  torn  by  rage,  love, 
and  vanity,  when,  far  up  the  bank  he  saw  a  herd  of 
buffalo  slaking  their  thirst  in  the  running  stream.  Seiz- 
ing his  bow  and  arrow,  with  noiseless  step  he  stole  upon 
his  victim,  and  the  unerring  shaft  soon  brought  it  to  the 
earth,  struggling  with  the  agonies  of  death. 

It  was  the  work  of  only  an  adept  to  strip  off  the  .skin 
and  spread  it  on  the  ground.  Upon  it  were  soon  laid 
the   gayly  wrought   moccasons,  leggings,  and  hmiting 


234         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

shirt — the  trophies  of  honorable  warfare,  and  the  skins 
of  birds  of  beautiful  plumage.  The  corners  of  the  hide 
were  then  brought  together,  and  tied  with  thongs  ;  the 
bundle  was  set  afloat  upon  the  stream,  and  its  owner 
dashed  on  the  rear,  guiding  it  to  the  opposite  shore 
with  its  contents  unharmed. 

Again '  decking  himself,  and  bearing  his  wooing  to- 
kens before  him,  he  ran  with  the  swiftness  of  the  deer 
to  the  lodge  that  contained  his  mistress,  leaving  the 
simplest  of  all  the  water-craft  of  the  back-woods  to  de- 
cay upon  the  ground. 

The  helplessness  of  age,  the  appealing  eyes  and  hands 
of  infancy,  the  gallantry  of  the  lover,  the  hostile  excur- 
sion of  a  tribe,  are  natural  incentives  to  the  savage 
mind  to  improve  upon  the  mere  bundle  of  inanimate 
things  that  could  be  safely  floated  upon  the  water.  To 
enlarge  this  bundle,  to  build  up  its  sides,  would  be  his 
study  and  delight,  and  we  have  accordingly  next  in  the 
list  of  back-woods  craft,  what  is  styled  by  the  white  man, 
— the  Buffalo-sJcin  boat.  This  craft  is  particularly  the 
one  of  the  prairie  country,  where  the  materials  for  its 
construction  are  always  to  be  found,  and  where  its  build- 
ers are  always  expert. 

A  party  of  Indians  find  themselves  upon  the  banks 
of  some  swift  and  deep  river — there  is  no  timber  larger 
than  a  common  walking  stick  to  be  seen  for  miles  around; 
the  Indians  are  loaded  with  plunder — for  they  have 
made  a  successful  incursion  into  the  territory  of  some 


WATER-CRAFT    OF    THE    KACK-WOODS.  235 

neighboring  tribe,  and  cannot  trust  their  effects  in  the 
water ;  or  they  arc  perchance  migrating  to  a  favorite 
hunting  ground,  and  have  with  them  all  their  domestic 
utensils,  their  squaws  and  children.  A  boat  is  posi- 
tively necessary,  and  it  must  be  made  of  the  materials 
at  hand.  A  fire  is  kindled,  and  by  it  are  laid  a  number 
of  long  slender  poles,  formed  by  trimming  oflF  the  limbs 
of  the  saplings  growing  on  the  margin  of  the  stream. 
While  this  is  going  on,  some  of  the  braves  start  in  pur- 
suit of  bufi'alo ;  two  of  the  stoutest  bulls  met  with,  arc 
killed  and  stripped  of  their  skins.  These  skins  are  then 
sewed  together,  the  poles  having  been  well  heated,  the 
longest  is  selected  and  bent  into  the  proper  form  for  a 
keel;  the  ribs  are  then  formed  and  lashed  ^transversely 
to  it,  making  what  -would  appear  to  be  the  skeleton  of  a 
large  animal.  This  skeleton  is  then  placed  upon  the 
hairy  side  of  the  buffalo  skin,  when  it  is  drawn  around 
the  frame  and  secured  by  holes  cut  in  the  skin,  and 
hitched  on  to  the  ribs ;  a  little  pounded  slippery-elm 
bark  is  used  to  caulk  the  seams,  and  small  pieces  of 
wood  cut  with  a  thread-like  screw,  are  inserted  in  the 
arrow  or  bullet  holes  of  the  hide. 

Thus,  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  hours,  a  hand- 
some and  durable  boat  is  completed,  capable  of  carrying 
eight  or  ten  men  with  comfort  and  safety. 

Passing  from  the  prairie  we  come  to  the  thick  forest, 
and  there  we  find  the  most  perfect  of  the  water-craft  of 
the  back  woods — the  varieties  of  the  canoe.     The  in- 


236  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

habitant  of  the  woods  never  dreams  of  a  boat  made  of 
skins  ;  he  looks  to  the  timber  for  a  conveyance.  Skilled 
in  the  knowledge  of  j)lants,  he  knows  the  exact  time 
when  the  bark  of  the  tree  will  most  readily  unwarp  from 
its  native  trunk ;  and  from  this  simple  material  he  forms 
the  most  beautiful  craft  that  sits  upon  the  water. 

The  rival  clubs  that  sport  their  yachts  upon  the 
Thames,  or  ply  them  upon  the  harbor  of  Mannahatta, 
like  things  of  life — formed  as  their  boats  are  by  the  high 
scientific  knowledge  and  perfect  manual  skill  of  the  two 
great  naval  nations  in  the  world,  are  thrown  in  the 
shade  by  the  beautiful  and  simple  bark  canoe,  made  by 
the  rude  hatchet  and  knife  of  the  red  man. 

The  American  forest  is  filled  with  trees,  whose  bark 
can  be  appropriated  to  the  making  of  canoes  ;  the  pecan, 
and  all  the  hickories,  with  the  birch,  grow  there  in  infinite 
profusion. 

A  tree  of  one  of  these  species  that  presents  a  trunk 
clear  of  limbs  for  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  is  first  selected ; 
the  artisan  has  nothing  but  a  rude  hunting  knife  and 
tomahawk  for  the  instruments  of  his  craft ;  with  the  lat- 
ter, he  girdles  the  bark  near  the  root  of  the  tree — this 
done,  he  ascends  to  the  proper  height,  and  there  makes 
another  girdle  ;  then  taking  his  knife  and  cutting 
through  the  bark  downwards,  he  separates  it  entirely 
from  the  trunk. 

Ascending  the  tree  again,  ho  inserts  his  knife-blade 
under  the  bark,  and  turning  it  up,  soon  forces   it  with 


WATKU-C-RAFT    OF    THE    HACK -WOODS.  237 

his  liand  until  he  can  use  more  powerful  levers;  ouce 
well  started,  he  will  worm  his  body  between  the  bark 
and  the  trunk,  and  thus  tear  it  off,  throwing  it  upon  the 
ground,  like  an  immense  scroll.  The  ross,  or  outside  of 
the  bark,  is  scraped  off  until  it  is  quite  smooth,  the 
scroll  is  then  opened,  and  the  braces  inserted  in  order  to 
give  the  proper  width  to  the  gunnels  of  the  canoe. 
Strong  cords  arc  then  made  from  the  bark  of  the  linn 
tree  or  hickory,  the  open  ends  of  the  bark  scroll  are 
pressed  together  and  fastened  between  clamps,  the  clamps 
secured  by  the  cord.  If  the  canoe  be  intended  only  for 
a  temporary  use,  the  clamps  are  left  on. 

But  if  to  usefulness  there  can  be  added  the  highest 
beaut}",  then  the  rude  damps  are  displaced  by  the  sew- 
ing together  of  the  ends  of  the  bark,  A  preparation 
is  then  made  of  deer's  tallow  and  pounded  charcoal, 
which  is  used  instead»of  pitch  to  fill  up  the  meshes  of 
the  seams,  and  the  boat  is  complete. 

This  simple  process  produces  the  most  beautiful 
model  of  a  boat  that  can  be  imagined  ;  art  can  neither 
embellish  the  form,  or  improve  upon  the  simple  mechan- 
ism of  the  back-woods.  Every  line  in  it  is  graceful,  and 
its  sharp  bows  indeed  seem  almost  designed  to  cleave  the 
air  as  well  as  water,  so  perfectly  does  it  embrace  every 
scientific  requisite  for  overcoming  the  obstructions  of 
the  element  iu  which  it  is  destined  to  move.  In  these 
apparently  frail  machines,  the  red  man,  aided  but  by  a 
single  paddle,  will  thread  the  quiet  brook  and  deep  run- 


238         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

ning  river,  speed  over  the  glassy  lake  like  a  swan,  and 
slioot  through  the  foaming  rapids  as  sportively  as  the 
trout,  and  when  the  storm  rages,  and  throws  the  waves 
heavenward,  and  the  lurid  clouds  seem  filled  with  mol- 
ten fire,  you  will  see  the  Indian,  like  a  spirit  of  the 
storm,  at  one  time  standing  out  in  bold  relief  against 
the  lightning-riven  sky,  the  next  moment — disappearing 
in  the  watery  gulf,  rivalling  the  gull  in  the  gracefulness 
of  his  movements,  and  rejoicing,  like  the  petrel,  in  the 
confusion  of  the  elements. 

The  articles  used  in  savage  life,  like  all  the  works 
of  nature,  are  simple,  and  yet  perfectly  adapted  to  the 
purpose  for  which  they  are  designed. 

The  most  ingenious  and  laborious  workman,  aided 
by  the  most  perfect  taste,  cannot  possibly  form  a  vessel 
so  general  in  its  use,  so  excellent  in  its  ends,  as  the 
calabash.  • 

The  Indian  finds  it  suspended  in  profusion  in  every 
glade  of  his  forest  home,  spontaneous  in  its  growth,  and 
more  eifectually  protected  from  destruction  from  ani- 
mals, through  a  bitter  taste,  than  by  any  artificial  bar- 
rier whatever.  So  with  all  the  rest  of  his  appropriations 
from  nature's  hands.  His  mind  scarcely  ever  makes  an 
efi"ort,  and  consequently  seldom  improves. 

The  simple  buff"alo  skin  that  forms  a  protection  for 
the  trifles  of  an  Indian  lover,  when  he  would  bear  them 
safely  across  the  swollen  stream,  compared  with  the 
gorgeous  bar^e  that  conveyed  Egypt's  queen  down  the 


WATER-CRAFT    OF     Illi:    H.\(  KWuuDS.  23y 

Nile  to  meet  Antonj',  Beems  immeasurably  inferior  in 
skill  and  contrivance.  Yet  the  galley  of  Cleopatra,  with 
all  its  gay  trappings,  and  its  silken  sails  glittering  in 
the  sun,  \vas  as  far  inferior  to  a  "  sliip  of  the  line,"  as 
the  Indian's  rude  bundle  to  the  barge  of  Cleopatra. 

Imagination  may  go  back  to  some  early  period,  when 
the  naked  Phoenician  sported  upon  a  floating  log ;  may 
mark  his  progress,  as  the  inviting  waters  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean prompted  him  to  more  adventurous  journeyings, 
and  in  time  sec  him  astonishing  his  little  world,  by  fear- 
lessly navigating  about  the  bays,  and  coasting  along  the 
whole  length  of  his  native  home. 

How  many  ages  after  this,  was  it,  that  the  invading 
fleets  of  classic  Greece,  proud  fleets,  indeed,  in  which 
the  gods  themselves  were  interested,  were  pulled  ashore, 
as  now  the  fisherman  secures  his  little  skiflf?  Admire 
the  proud  battle  ship,  riding  upon  the  waves,  forming  a 
safe  home  for  thousands,  now  touching  the  clouds  with 
its  ^ky-reaching  masts,  and  descending  safely  into  the 
deep.  With  what  power  and  majesty  does  it  dash  the 
intruding  wave  from  its  prow,  and  rush  on  in  the  very 
teeth  of  the  winds  ! 

Admire  it  as  the  wonder  of  human  skill,  then  go 
back  through  the  long  cycle  of  years,  and  see  how  many 
centuries  have  elapsed  in  thus  perfecting  it — then  ex- 
amine the  most  elaborate  craft  of  our  savage  life,  and 
the  antiquity  of  their  youth  will  be  inipres.sed  upon 
you. 


PLACE    DE    LA   CEOIX. 

A    ROMANCE    OF    THE    WEST. 

There  is  much  of  beautiful  romance  in  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  early  settlements  of  Florida.  De  Soto  and 
Ponce  de  Leon  have  thrown  around  the  records  of  their 
searches  for  gold  and  the  waters  of  life,  a  kind  of  dreamy 
character  which  renders  them  more  like  traditions  of  a 
spiritual  than  of  a  real  world.  They  and  their  followers 
were  men  of  stern  military  discipline,  who  had  won  hon- 
ors in  their  conquests  over  the  Moors ;  and  they  came 
hither  not  as  emigrants,  seeking  an  asylum  from  oppres- 
sion, but  as  proud  nobles,  anxious  to  add  to  their  nu- 
merous laurels,  by  conquests  in  a  new  world.  The 
startling  discoveries, — the  fruits,  the  gold,  and  the  na- 
tives that  appeared  with  Columbus  at  the  court  of  Isa- 
bella,— gave  to  fancy  an  impetus,  and  to  enthusiasm  a 
power,  which  called  forth  the  pomp  of  the  "  Infallible 


PLACi:    DE    LA    CROIX.  241 

Church  "  to  mingle  her  sacred  symbols  with  those  of 
arms  ;  and  they  went  joined  together  through  the  wilds 
of  America. 

Among  the  beautiful  and  striking  customs  of  those 
days,  was  the  erection  of  the  Cross  at  the  mouths  of 
rivers,  and  prominent  points  of  land,  that  presented  them- 
selves to  the  discoverers. 

The  sacred  symbol  thus  reared  in  solitude,  seemed 
to  shadow  forth  the  future,  when  the  dense  forests  would 
be  filled  with  its  followers,  instead  of  the  wild  savage ; 
and  it  cheered  the  lonely  pilgrim  in  his  dangerous  jour- 
neys, bringing  to  his  mind  all  the  clftrished  associations 
of  this  life,  and  directing  his  thoughts  to  another  world. 
In  the  putting  up  of  these  crosses,  as  they  bore  the  arms 
of  the  sovereign  whose  subjects  erected  them,  and  as 
they  were  indicative  of  civil  jurisdiction  and  empire,  the 
most  prominent  and  majestic  locations  were  selected, 
where  they  could  be  seen  for  miles  around,  towering 
above  every  other  object,  speaking  the  advances  of  the 
European,  and  giving  title  to  the  lauds  over  which  they 
cast  their  shadows. 

Three  hundred  years  ago  the  sign  of  the  cross  was 
first  raised  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi. 

From  one  of  the  few  blufi^s  or  high  points  of  land 

that  border  that  swift-running  river,  De  Soto,  guided  by 

the  aborigines  of  the  country,  was  the  first  European 

that  looked  upon  its  turbid  waters,  soon  to  be  his  grave. 

On  thi.s  high  bluff,  taking  advantage  of  a  lofty  cottou- 
11 


242  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

wood  tree,  he  caused  its  majestic  trunk  to  be  shorn  of 
its  limbs ;  and  on  this  tall  shaft  placed  the  beam  which 
formed  the  cross. 

This  completed,  the  emblazoned  banners  of  Spain 
and  Arragon  were  unfurled  to  the  breeze,  and,  amid  the 
strains  of  martial  music  and  the  firing  of  cannon,  the 
steel-clad  De  Soto,  assisted  by  the  priests  in  his  train, 
raised  the  host  to  heaven,  and  declared  the  reign  of 
Christianit}'  commenced  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  erection  of  this  touching  symbol  in  the  great 
temple  of  nature  was  full  of  poetry.  The  forests,  like 
the  stars,  declare  the  wonderful  works  of  the  Creator. 
In  the  silent  grandeur  of  our  primeval  woods,  in  their 
avenues  of  columns,  their  canopies  of  leaves,  their  fes- 
toons of  vines,  the  cross  touched  the  heart,  and  spoke 
more  fully  its  office  than  ever  it  will  glistening  among 
the  human  greatness  of  a  Milan  cathedral,  or  the  solemn 
grandeur  of  a  St.  Peter's. 

Two  hundred  years  after  Ponce  de  Leon  had  min- 
gled his  dust  with  the  sands  of  the  peninsula  of  Florida, 
and  De  Soto  reposed  beneath  the  current  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, the  same  spirit  of  religious  and  military  enthusi- 
asm pervaded  the  settlements  made  by  both  French  and 
Spanish  in  this  "  land  of  flowers." 

Among  the  adventurers  of  that  day  were  many  who 
mingled  the  romantic  ambition  of  the  crusaders  with 
the  ascetic  spirit  of  the  monk,  and  who  looked  upon 
themselves  as  ambassadors  of  religion  to  new  nations  in 


PLACE    DE    LA    CROIX.  243 

a  now  world.  Of  such  was  Rousseau.  It  requires  lit- 
tle imagination  to  understand  the  disappointment  that 
such  a  man  would  meet  with  in  the  forest,  and  as  an 
intruder  of  the  untractable  red  man.  The  exalted  no- 
tions of  Rousseau  ended  in  despondence,  when  away  from 
the  pomp  and  influence  of  his  church.  Having  lieen 
nurtured  in  the  "  Eternal  City,"  he  had  not  the  zeal, 
and  lacked  the  principle,  to  become  an  humble  teacher 
to  humbler  recipients  of  knowledge. 

Disregarding  his  priestly  office,  he  finally  mingled 
in  the  dissipations  of  society,  and  in  the  year  173G, 
started  off  as  a  military  companion  to  D'Arteguette  in 
his  expedition  among  the  Chickasas. 

The  death  of  D'Arteguette  and  his  bravest  troops, 
and  the  dispersion  of  his  Indian  allies,  left  Rousseau  a 
wanderer,  surrounded  by  implacable  enemies,  he  being 
one  of  the  few  who  escaped  the  fate  of  battle. 

Unaccustomed  to  forest  life,  and  more  than  a  thousand 
miles  from  the  Canadas,  he  became  a  prey  of  imaginary 
and  real  dangers.  Unprovided  with  arms,  his  food  was 
of  roots  or  herbs.  At  night  the  wild  beasts  howled 
round  his  cold  couch,  and  every  stump  in  the  daytime 
seemed  to  him  to  conceal  an  Indian. 

Now  it  was,  that  Rousseau  reviewed  the  incidents  of 
his  past  life  with  sorrow.  lie  discovered,  when  it  was 
too  late,  that  he  had  lost  his  peace  of  mind,  and  his 
hopes  of  future  existence,  for  a  momentary  enjoyment. 
Wasting  with  watching   and    hunger,   ho   prayed  to  the 


244  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

Virgin  to  save  him,  that  he  might,  by  a  long  life  of  pen- 
ance, obliterate  his  sins.  On  the  twelfth  day  of  his 
wanderings  he  sank  ujDon  the  earth  to  die,  and,  casting 
his  eyes  upward  in  prayer,  he  saw.  far  in  the  distance, 
towering  above  every  other  object,  the  cross  ! 

It  seemed  a  miracle,  and  inspired  with  strength  his 
trembling  limbs ;  he  pressed  forward  that  he  might 
breathe  his  last  at  its  foot.  As  he  reached  it,  a  smile 
of  triumph  lighted  up  his  wayworn  features,  and  he  fell 
insensible  to  the  earth. 

Never,  perhaps,  was  this  emblem  more  beautifully 
decorated  or  more  touchingly  displayed  than  was  the 
one  that  towered  over  Rousseau.  From  indications, 
some  fifteen  years  might  have  elapsed  smce  the  Euro- 
pean pilgrim  had  erected  it.  One  of  the  largest  forest 
trees  had  been  chosen  that  stood  upon  the  surrounding 
blufi"s  ;  the  tall  trunk  tapered  upward  with  the  propor- 
tion of  a  Corinthian  column,  which,  with  the  piece  form- 
ing the  cross,  was  covered  with  ten  thousand  of  those 
evergreen  vines  that  spread  such  a  charm  over  the 
southern  landscape.  It  seemed  as  if  nature  had  paid 
tribute  to  the  sacred  symbol,  and  festooned  it  with  a 
perfection  and  beauty  worthy  of  her  abundance.  The 
honey-suckle  and  the  ivy,  the  scarlet  creeper  and  fra- 
grant jasmine,  the  foliage  enamelled  with  flowers,  shed 
upon  the  repentant,  and  now  insensible  Rousseau,  a 
shower  of  fragrance. 

Near  where  he  lay,  there  was  a  narrow  n.nd  amply- 


PLACE    DE    LA    CROIX,  245 

worn  footpath.  You  could  trace  it,  from  where  it  lost 
itself  in  the  deep  forests,  to  where  it  wound  around  the 
steep  -  washed  bank,  and  touched  the  water's  edge. 
At  this  point  were  to  be  seen  the  prints  of  footsteps ; 
and  traces  of  small  fires  were  also  visible,  one  of  which, 
still  sent  up  puffs  of  smoke. 

Here  it  was  that  the  Choctaw  maidens  and  old 
women  performed  their  rude  labor  of  washing. 

Ill  tlie  morning  and  evening  sun,  a  long  line  of  the 
forest  children  might  be  seen,  with  clay  jars  and  skins 
filled  witir\\ater,  carrying  them  upon  their  heads,  and 
stringing  up,  single  file,  the  steep  bank,  and  losing  them- 
selves in  the  woods ; — with  their  half-clad  and  erect 
forms,  making  a  most  pictures(|ue  display,  not  unlike 
the  processions  figured  in  the  liieroglyphical  paintings 
of  Egypt. 

Soon  after  Rousseau  fell  at  the  cross,  there  might 
have  been  seen  emerging  from  the  woods,  and  following 
the  path  we  have  described,  a  delicately-formed  Indian 
girl.  In  her  hand  was  a  long  reed  and  a  basket,  and 
she  came  with  blithe  steps  towards  the  river.  As  she 
passed  the  cross,  the  form  of  Kousseau  met  her  eyes. 
Stopping  and  examining  him,  with  almost  overpowering 
curiosity,  she  retreatod  with  precipitation,  but  almost 
instantly  returned.  She  approached  nearer,  until  the 
wan  and  insensible  face  met  her  view.  Strange  as  was 
his  appearance  and  color,  the  chord  of  humanity  was 
touched,  the  woman   forgot  both  fear   and  curiosity,  in 


246  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

her  anxiety  to  allay  visible  suffering.  A  moment  had 
hardly  elapsed  before  water  was  thrown  in  his  face  and 
held  to  bis  lips. 

The  refreshing  beverage  brought  him  to  conscious- 
ness. He  stared  wildly  about,  and  discovered  the  In- 
dian form  bending  over  him ;  he  again  sank  insensible 
to  the  earth.  Like  a  young  doe  the  girl  bounded  away, 
and  disappeared. 

A  half  hour  might  have  elapsed,  when  there  issued 
out  of  the  forest  a  long  train  of  Indians.  At  their 
head  was  the  young  maiden,  surrounded  by  armed  war- 
riors ;  in  the  rear  followed  women  and  children.  They 
approached  Kousseau,  whose  recovery  was  but  momen- 
tary, and  who  was  now  unconscious  of  what  was  passing 
around  him.  The  crowd  examined  him  first  wdth  cau- 
tion, gradually,  with  familiarity  ;  their  whispers  became 
animated  conversation,  and,  finally,  blended  in  one  noisy 
confusion. 

There  were,  among  those  present,  many  who  had 
heard  of  the  white  man  and  of  his  powers,  but  none  had 
ever  seen  one  before.  One  Indian,  more  bold  than  the 
rest,  stripped  the  remnant  of  a  cloak  from  Eousseau's 
shoulder  ;  another,  emboldened  by  this  act,  caught 
rudely  hold  of  his  coat,  and  as  he  pulled  it  aside,  there 
fell  from  his  breast  a  small  gilt  crucifix,  held  by  a  silken 
cord.  Its  brilliancy  excited  the  cupidity  of  all,  and 
many  were  the  eager  hands  that  pressed  forward  to  ob- 
tain it.     An  old  chief  gained  the  prize,  and  fortunately 


II.  slartnl  wil.!ly  alK>nf  hlin.  nnil  i!i<H^>nv('ri-l  lli<-  IimUhii  r..rm  iK-iMJinu 


PLAGE    DE    LA    CROIX.  "247 

for  Rousseau,  his  prowess-  and  influence  left  him  in  uii 
disputed  possession.  As  he  t'xamined  the  little  trinket, 
the  Indian  girl  we  have  spoken  of,  the  only  female  near 
Rousseau,  crossed  her  delicate  fingers,  and  pointed  up- 
ward. The  old  chief  instantly  beheld  the  similarity  be- 
tween the  large  and  small  symbol  of  Christianity ;  and 
extending  it  aloft,  with  all  the  dignity  of  a  cardinal,  the 
crowd  shouted  as  they  saw  the  resemblance,  and  a  change 
came  over  them  all. 

They  associated  at  once  the  erection  of  the  large 
cross  with  Rousseau ;  and  as  their  shout  had  again 
called  forth  exhibitions  of  life  from  his  insensible  form, 
they  threw  his  cloak  over  him,  suspended  the  cross  to 
his  neck,  brought,  in  a  moment,  green  boughs,  with 
which  a  litter  was  made,  and  bore  him  with  all  respect 
toward  their  lodges.  The  excitement  and  exercise  of 
removal  did  much  to  restore  him  to  life ;  a  dish  of  maize 
did  more ;  and  nothing  could  exceed  his  astonishment 
on  his  recovery,  that  he  should  be  treated  with  such 
kindness  ;  and  as  he  witnessed  the  respect  paid  the  cross, 
and  was  shown  by  rude  gestures,  that  he  owed  his  life  to 
its  influence,  he  sank  upon  his  knees,  overwhelmed  with 
its  visible  exhibition  of  power,  and  satisfied  that  his 
prayer  for  safety  had  been  answered  by  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a  miracle. 

The  Choctaws,  into  whose  hands  tlie  unfortunate 
Rousseau  had  fallen  (altliough  he  was  not  aware  of  the 
diff'erence),  were  of  a  kinder  nature  than  the  Cherokees, 
from  whom  he  had  so  lately  escaped. 


2A8  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

Years  before,  the  inhabitants  of  the  little  village, 
on  their  return  from  a  hunting  exjDedition,  discovered 
the  cross  we  have  described  ;  its  marks  then  were  such 
as  would  be  exhibited  a  few  da3'S  after  its  erection. 
Footsteps  were  seen  about  its  base,  which,  from  their 
variance  with  the  mark  left  by  the  moccasin,  satisfied 
the  Indians  that  it  was  not  erected  by  any  of  their 
people.  The  huge  limbs  that  had  been  shorn  from  the 
trunk  bore  fresh  marks  of  terrible  cuts,  which  the  stone 
hatchet  could  not  have  made. 

As  is  natural  to  the  Indian  mind,  on  the  display  of 
power  which  they  cannot  explain,  they  appropriately, 
though  accidentally,  associated  the  cross  with  the  Great 
Spirit,  and  looked  upon  it  with  wonder  and  admiration. 

Beside  the  cross  there  was  found  an  axe,  left  by 
those  who  had  used  it.  This  was  an  object  of  the 
greatest  curiosity  to  its  finders.  They  struck  it  into 
the  trees,  severed  huge  limbs,  and  performed  other  pow- 
erful feats  with  it,  and  yet  fancied  that  their  own  rude 
stone  instruments  failed  to  do  the  same  execution,  from 
want  of  a  governing  spirit,  equal  to  that  which  they 
imagined  presided  over  the  axe,  and  not  from  difference 
of  material. 

The  cross  and  the  axe  were  associated  together  in 
the  Indians'  minds  ;  and  the  crucifix  of  Rousseau  con- 
nected him  with  both.  They  treated  him,  therefore, 
with  all  the  attention  they  would  bestow  upon  a  being 
who  is  master  of  a  superior  power. 


TLACi:    DE    LA    CROIX.  240 

The  terrible  and  strange  incidents  that  had  formed 
the  life  of  Rousseau,  since  the  defeat  of  his  military 
associate,  D'Arteguette,  seemed  to  him,  as  he  recalled 
tiuin  in  jjis  mind,  to  have  occupied  an  age.  His  dreams 
were  filled  with  scenes  of  torment  and  death.  He  would 
start  from  his  sleep  with  the  idea  that  an  arrow  was  pen- 
etrating his  body,  or  that  the  bloody  knife  was  at  his 
heart  ;  these  were  thefi  changed  into  visions  of  starva- 
tion, or  destruction  by  wild  beasts.  Recovering  his 
senses,  he  would  find  himself  in  a  comfortable  lodge, 
reposing  on  a  couch  of  soft  skins ;  while  the  simple 
children  of  the  woods,  relieved  of  their  terrors,  were 
waiting  to  administer  to  his  wants.  The  change  from 
the  extreme  of  suffering  to  that  of  comfort,  he  could 
hardly  realize. 

The  cross  in  tlie  wilderness,  the  respect  they  paid  to 
the  one  upon  his  breast,  Averc  alike  inexplicable  ;  and 
Rousseau,  according  to  the  spirit  of  his  age,  felt  that  a 
miracle  had  been  wrought  in  his  favor :  and  on  his 
bended  knees  he  renewed  his  ecclesiastical  vows,  and 
determined  to  devote  his  life  to  enlightening  and  chris- 
tianizing the  people  among  whom  Providence  had  placed 
him. 

The  Indian  girl  who  first  discovered  Rousseau,  was 
the  only  child  of  a  powerful  chief     She   was   still   a 
maiden,  and  the  slavish   labor  of   savage   married   life 
had.  conscfjuently,  not  been  imposed  upon  her. 
11* 


250  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

Among  her  tribe  she  was  universally  considered 
beautiful  ;  and  her  hand  had  been  vainly  sought  by  all 
the  young  ''  braves  "  of  her  tribe. 

Wayward,  or  indifferent  to  please,  she  resolutely  re- 
fused to  occupy  any  lodge  but  her  father^s,  however  eli- 
gible and  enviable  the  settlement  might  have  appeared 
in  the  eyes  of  her  associates. 

For  an  Indian  girl  she  was  remarkably  gentle  ;  and, 
as  Rousseau  gradually  recovered  his  strength,  he  had, 
through  her  leisure,  more  frequent  intercourse  with  her 
than  with  any  other  of  the  tribe.  There  was  also  a  feel- 
ing in  his  breast  that  she  was,  in  the  hands  of  an  over- 
ruling Providence,  the  instrument  used  to  preserve  his 
life.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  speculations  of 
the  elders  of  the  tribe,  as  day  after  day  Rousseau  court- 
ed her  society  and  listened  to  the  sounds  of  her  voice, 
we  do  not  know  ;  but  his  attentions  to  her  were  indi- 
rectly encouraged,  and  the  Indian  girl  was  almost  con- 
stantly at  his  side. 

Rousseau's  plans  were  formed.  The  painful  expe- 
rience he  had  encountered,  while  following  the  ambition 
of  worldly  greatness,  had  driven  him  back  into  the  se- 
clusion of  the  church,  with  a  love  only  to  end  with  his 
life. 

He  determined  to  learn  the  dialect  of  the  people  in 
whose  lot  his  life  was  cast,  and  form  them  into  a  nation 
of  worthy  recipients  of  the  "Holy  Church;"  and  the 
gentle  Indian  girl  was  to  him  a  preceptor,  to  teach  him 


i 


TLACK    DE    LA    CROIX.  251 

her  language.  AVith  this  high  resolve,  he  repeated  the 
sounds  of  lier  voice,  imitated  her  gesticulations,  and  en- 
couraged, with  marked  preference,  her  society. 

The  few  weeks  passed  by  Rgoisseau  among  the 
Clioctaws,  had  made  him  one  bitter,  implacable  enemy. 
Unable  to  explain  his  ofl&cc  or  his  intentions,  his  prefer- 
ence for  Chechoula,  had  been  'ftarked  by  the  .keen  eye 
of  a  jealous  and  rejected  lover. 

Wah-aola  was  a  young  ''  brave,''  who  had  distin- 
guished himself  on  the  hunting  and  war  paths.  Young 
as  he  was,  he  had  won  a  name.  Three  times  he  had 
laid  the  trophies  of  his  prowess  at  the  feet  of  Chechoula, 
and  as  often  she  had  rejected  his  suit.  Astonished  at 
his  want  of  success,  he  looked  upon  his  mistress  as  la- 
boring under  the  influence  of  some  charm,  for  he  could 
find  no  accepted  rival  for  her  hand. 

The  presence  of  Rous.seau — the  marked  preference 
which  Chechoula  exhibited  for  his  society,  settled,  in 
his  own  mind,  that  the  '•  palo  face  '  was  the  charmer. 

With  this  conviction,  he  placed  himself  conveniently 
to  meet  his  mistress,  and  once  more  pleaded  his  suit 
before  he  exhibited  the  feelings  of  hatred  which  he  felt 
towards  llousseau.  The  lodge  of  Cliechoula's  father 
was,  from  the  dignity  of  the  chief,  at  the  head  of  the 
Indian  village,  and  at  some  little  distance.  The  impa- 
tient Wah-a  ola  seated  himself  near  its  entrance,  where, 
from  his  concealment,  he  could  watch  whoever  entered 
its  door.     A  short  time  only  elapsed,  before  he  saw,  in 


252         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

the  cold  moonlight,  a  group  of  Indian  girls  approaching 
the  Indian  lodge,  in  busy  conversation,  and  conspicu- 
ously among  them  all,  Chechoula. 

Her  companions  separated  from  her,  and  as  she  en- 
tered her  fathers's  lodge,  a  rude  buffalo  skin  shut  her 
in.  Soon  after  her  disappearance,  the  little  groups  about 
the  Indian  village  gra^lially  dispersed ;  the  busy  hum 
of  conversation  ceased ;  and  when  profound  stillness 
reigned,  a  plaintive  note  of  the  whip-poor-will  was  heard ; 
it  grew  louder  and  louder,  until  it  appeared  as  if  the  lone 
bird  was  perched  on  the  top  of  the  lodge  that  contained 
Chechoula.  It  attracted  her  ear,  for  she  thrust  aside 
the  buffalo-skin,  and  listened  with  fixed  attention.'  The 
bird  screamed,  and  appeared  to  flutter,  as  if  wounded. 
Chechoula  rushed  toward  the  bushes  that  seemed  to 
conceal  so  much  distress,  when  Wah-a-ola  sprang  up  and 
seized  her  wrist.  The  affrighted  girl  stared  at  her  cap- 
tor for  a  moment,  and  then  exclaimed, 

''  The  snake  should  not  sing  like  the  birds  !  " 

Wah-a-ola  relaxed  not  his  hold  ;  there  was  a  volcano 
in  his  breast,  that  seemed  to  overwhelm  him  as  he  glared 
upon  Chechoula  with  blood-shot  eyes.  Struggling  to 
conceal  his  emotion,  he  replied  to  her  question,  by  ask- 
ing "  If  the  wild-flowers  of  the  woods  were  known  only 
to  their  thorns  ?  " 

"  The  water-lilies  grow  upon  smooth  stones,"  said 
Chechoula,  striving  violently  to  retreat  to  her  father's 
lodge. 


PLACE    DE    LA    CROL\.  253 

The  love  of  Waba-ohi  was  full  of  jealousy,  and 
tho  salute  and  reply  of  his  mistress  converted  it  into 
hate.  Dashing  his  hand  across  his  brow,  on  which  tho 
savage  workings  of  his  passion  werg  plainly  visible,  he 
asked,  if  "  a  brave ''  was  to  whine  for  a  woman  like  a 
bear  for  its  cubs  ? 

"  Go  !  "  said  he,  flinging  Cb^houla's  arm  from  him  : 
"go!  The  mistletoe  grows  not  upon  young  trees,  and 
the  pale  face  shall  be  a  rabbit  in  the  den  of  the  wolf !  " 

From  the  time  that  Rousseau  was  able  to  walk,  he 
had  made  a  daily  pilgrimage  to  the  cross,  and  there, 
upon  his  bended  knees,  greeted  the  morning  sun.  This 
habit  was  known  to  all  the  tribe.  The  morning  follow- 
ing the  scene  between  Wah-a-ola  and  Ohechoula,  he  was 
found  dead  at  the  foot  of  the  sacred  tree.  A  poisoned 
arrow  had  been  driven  almost  through  his  body. 

Great  was  the  constematipn  of  the  Choctaws.  It 
was  considered  a  mysterious  evidence  of  impending  evil ; 
while  not  a  single  person  could  divine  who  was  the  mur- 
derer. 

"  The  mistletoe  grows  not  upon  young  trees  ! " 
thought  Chechoula  ;  and  for  the  first  time  she  knew  the 
full  meaning  of  the  words,  as  she  bent  over  the  body  of 
Rousseau.  She  attended  his  obsequies  with  a  sorrow 
less  visible,  but  more  deep,  than  that  of  her  people ;  al- 
though the  whole  tribe  had,  in  the  short  residence  of  the 
departed,  learned  to  respect  him,  and  to  look  upon  him 
as  a  great  "  Medicine."     His  grave  was  dug  where  he 


254  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUKTER. 

had  so  often  jDrayed,  and  the  same  sod  covered  him  that 
drank  his  heart's  blood. 

According  to  Indian  custom,  all  that  he  possessed, 
as  well  as  those  articles  appropriated  to  his  use,  were 
buried  with  him  in  bis  grave.  His  little  crucifix  re- 
posed upon  his  breast,  and  he  was  remembered  as  one 
who  had  mysteriously  come,  and  as  mysteriously  passed 
away. 

A  few  years  after  the  events  we  have  detailed,  a 
Jesuit  missionary,  who  understood  the  Choctaw  lan- 
guage, announced  his  mission  to  the  tribe,  and  was  by 
them  kindly  received.  His  presence  revived  the  recollec- 
tions of  Rousseau,  and  the  story  of  his  having  been  among 
them  was  told.  The  priest  explained  to  them  his  ofiice, 
and  these  wild  people,  in  a  short  time,  erected  over  the 
remains  of  Rousseau  a  rude  chapel ;  his  spirit  was  called 
upon  as  their  patron  saint,  and  Chechoula  was  the  first 
to  renounce  the  superstitions  of  her  tribe,  and  receive 
the  Holy  Sacrament  of  Baptism. 

In  the  year  1829,  a  small  brass  cross  was  picked  out 
of  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  near  Natchez,  at  the 
depth  of  several  feet  from  the  surface.  The  crucifix  was 
in  tolerable  preservation,  and  was  exposed  by  one  of 
those  caviugs  of  the  soil  so  peculiar  to  the  Mississippi. 
The  speculations  which  the  finding  of  this  cross  called 
forth,  revived  the  almost  forgotten  traditions  of  the  story 
of  Rousseau,  and  of  his  death  and  burial  at  the  Place 
De  La  Croix. 


OPOSSUM  HUNTING. 

An  opossum  was  made  to  represent  the  class  of  natural 
lusus  nalurce,  for  they  are  certainly  the  most  singular, 
inexplicable  little  animals  that  live.  In  their  creation, 
Dame  Nature  seems  to  have  shown  a  willingness,  if  ne- 
cessary, to  be  ridiculous,  just  for  the  sake  of  introducing 
a  new  fashion.  We  will  not,  however,  go  into  particu- 
lars, for  we  might  infringe  upon  the  details  of  ''  breed- 
ing," and  thereby  "  o'erstep  the  modesty  of  nature." 

One  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  opossum  that  attracts 
to  it  general  attention,  is  the  singular  pouch  they  have 
under  the  belly,  in  which  their  young  are  carried  before 
their  complete  development,  and  also  into  which  they 
retreat  when  alarmed  by  the  approach  of  danger. 

This  particular  organ  contains  in  its  interior,  ten  or 
twelve  teats,  to  which  the  young,  after  what  seems  a 
premature  birth,  are  attached,  and  where  they  hang  for 
about  fifty  days,  then  drop  off,  and  commence  a  more 
active  state  of  existence. 


256         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

This  animal  evidently  varies  in  size  in  different  lati- 
tudes. ■  In  Louisiana  tliej  grow  quite  large  compared 
with  those  inhabiting  more  northern  climates. 

The  opossum  ranges  in  length  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
inches,  the  tail  is  about  the  same  extent.  The  body  is 
covered  with  a  rough  coating  of  white,  gray,  and  brown 
hair,  so  intermixed  and  rough,  that  it  makes  the  animal 
look  as  if  it  had  been  wet  and  then  drawn  through  a  coal- 
hole or  ash-heap.  The  feet,  the  ears,  and  the  snout  are 
naked. 

The  organs  of  sense  and  motion  in  this  little  animal 
seem  to  be  exceedingly  dull.  Their  eyes  are  prominent, 
hanging  like  black  beads  out  of  their  sockets,  and  ap- 
pear to  be  perfectly  destitute  of  lids,  with  a  pupil  simi- 
lar to  those  of  a  cat,  which  shows  that  they  are  suited 
to  midnight  depredations. 

The  nostrils  of  the  opossum  are  evidently  well  de- 
veloped, and  upon  the  smell  almost  exclusively,  is  it  de- 
pendent for  its  preservation.  The  ears  look  as  if  they 
were  pieces  of  dark  or  soft  kid  skin,  rolled  up  and  fas- 
tened in  their  proper  places.  The  mouth  is  exceedingly 
large  and  unmeaning,  and  ornamented  with  innumerable 
sharp  teeth,  yet  there  is  very  little  strength  in  the  jaws. 
The  paws  or  hands  of  the  animal  are  the  seat  of  its 
most  delicate  sensibility,  and  in  their  construction  are 
developed  some  of  the  most  wonderful  displays  of  the 
ingenuity  of  an  All-wise  Providence,  to  overcome  the 


OPOSSUM    HUNTING.  2o/ 

evident   inferiority  of  the  other  parts  of  the   animal's 
construction. 

Tlic  opossum  makes  a  burrow  in  the  ground,  gene- 
rally found  near  habitations.     In  tlie  day  time  it  sleeps, 
and  prowls  at  night.     The  moon  in  its  brilliancy  seems 
to  dazzle  it,  for  under  the  bright  rays  of  the  queen  of 
night  it  is  often  knocked  on  the  head  by  the  negro  hunt- 
er, without  apparently  perceiving  it  has  an  enemy  near. 
The  habits  of  the  opossum  generally  resemble  those 
of  the  "  coon  "  and   fox,  though   they   are,  as  might  be 
supposed  from  our  imperfect  description,  infinitely  less 
intelligent  in  defending  themselves  against   the  attack 
of  an  enemy.     Knock  an  opossum  on  the  head  or  any 
part  of  the  body,  with  a  weapon  of  any  kind,  small  or 
great,  and  if  he  makes  any  resistance  at  all,  he  will  en- 
deavor to   bite  the  weapon,  instead  of  the  agent  using 
it.     The  opossum  is,  in  fact,  a  harmless  little  creature, 
and  seems  to  belong  to  some  peace  society,  the  members 
of  which  have  agreed  to  act  toward  the  world  as  the 
boy  promised  to  do  with  the  bull-dog,  "  If  you  will  let 
me  alone,  I  won't  trouble  you." 

Put  the  animal  in  a  critical  situation,  and  he  will 
resort  to  stratagem  instead  of  force  to  elude  his  pur- 
suers ;  for  if  he  finds  esca})e  impossible,  he  will  feign 
himself  dead  in  advance  of  giving  you  an  opportunity  to 
carry  out  your  destructive  intentions  toward  him  ;  or 
when  you  think  you  have  destroyed  him,  he  will  watch 


258         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  EEE-HUNTER. 

his  opportunity,  and  unexpectedly  recovering  his  breath, 
will  make  his  escape. 

This  trick  of  the  little  animal  has  given  rise  to  a 
proverb  of  much  meaning  among  those  acquainted  with 
his  habits,  entitled,  "playing  'possum,"'  and  probably  it 
is  as  good  an  illustration  of  certain  deceptive  actions  of 
life  as  can  be  well  imagined. 

Take  an  opossum  in  good  health,  corner  him  up  un- 
til escape  is  impossible,  then  give  him  a  gentle  tap  on 
the  body  that  would  hardly  crush  a  mosquito,  and  he 
will  straighten  out,  and  be,  according  to  all  indications, 
perfectly  dead.  In  this  situation  you  may  thump  liim, 
cut  his  flesh,  and  half  skin  him  :  not  a  muscle  will 
move  ;  his  eyes  are  glazed  and  covered  with  dust,  for  he 
has  no  eyelids  to  close  over  them.  You  may  even  worry 
him  with  a  dog,  and  satisfy  yourself  that  he  is  really 
defunct ;  then  leave  him  quiet  a  moment,  and  he  will 
draw  a  thin  film  from  his  eyes,  and,  if  not  interfered 
with,  be  among  the  missing. 

An  Irishman,  meeting  with  one  of  these  little  ani- 
mals in  a  public  road,  was  thrown  into  admiration  at  its ' 
appearance,  and  on  being  asked  why   he   did  not  bring 
the  "  thing  "  home  with  him,  said  he  : 

"  On  sight,  I  popped  him  with  my  shillelah ;  he  died 
off  immadiatel}^  and  I  thrust  the  spalpeen  into  my  coat 
pocket  5  '  There's  a  dinner,  ony  how,'  I  said  to  myself; 
and  scarcely  liad  I  made  the  observation,  than  he  com- 
menced devouring  me,  biting  through  my  breeches,  the 


OPOSSUM    HITNTIXG.  259 

Lord  presarve  me  I  I  tooli  liim  out  of  my  pocket,  and 
gave  him  another  tap  on  tlie  head  that  would  have  kilt 
an  Orangeman  at  Donnybrook  Fair :  '  Take  that  for  a 
finis,  you  desateful  crater,'  said  I,  slinging  him  upon 
my  back.  Well,  murther,  if  he  didn't  have  me  by  the 
sate  of  honor  in  no  time.  '  Och,  ye  'Morica  cat,  ye,  I'll 
bate  the  sivin  lives  out  of  ye  ! '  and  at  liim  I  wlut  till 
the  bones  of  his  body  cracked,  and  Jic  ivas  than  kilt. 
Then  catching  him  by  the  tail,  for  fear  of  accidents,  if 
he  didn't  turn  round  and  give  my  thumb  a  pinch,  I'm 
no  Irishman.  '  Oflf  wid  ye  !  '  I  hallooed  with  a  .'^hout, 
'  for  some  ill-mannered  ghost  of  the  divil,  with  a  rat's 
tail :  and  if  I  throubles  the  likes  of  ye  again,  may  I  ride 
backwards  at  my  own  funeral ! '  " 

There  is  one  other  striking  characteristic  about  the 
opossum,  which,  we  presume,  Shakspeare  had  a  pro- 
phetic vision  of,  when  he  wrote  that  celebrated  sentence, 
"  Thereby  hangs  a  tail ;  "  for  this  important  appendage, 
next  to  its  "  playing  'possum,"  is  most  extraordinary. 
This  tail  is  long,  black,  and  destitute  of  hair,  and  al- 
though it  will  not  enable  its  posses.'^or,  like  the  kangaroo, 
in  the  language  of  the  showman,  ''  to  jump  fifteen  feet 
upwards  and  forty  downwards,"  still  it  is  of  gnat  im- 
portance in  climbing  trees,  and  supporting  the  animal 
when  watching  for  its  prey. 

B}-  this  tail  the  'possum  suspends  itself  for  hours  t<» 
a  swinging  limb  of  a  tree,  either  for  amusement  or  for 
the  purpose  of  sleeping,  which  la.st  ho  will  do  while  thus 


260  THE    inVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

"  hung  up,"  as  soundly  as  if  slipping  his  hold  did  not 
depend  upon  his  own  will.  This  ''  tail  hold  ".  is  so  firm, 
that  shooting  the  animal  will  not  cause  him  to  let  go, 
even  if  you  blow  his  head  off;  on  the  contrary,  he  will 
remain  hung  up,  until  the  birds  of  prey  and  the  elements 
have  scattered  his  carcass  to  the  winds  ;  and  yet  the 
tail  will  remain  an  object  of  unconquered  attachment  to 
its  last  object  of  circumlocuting  embrace. 

An  old  backwoods  "  Boanerges "  of  our  accjuaint- 
ance,  who  occasionallj^  threw  down  his  lap-stone  and 
awl,  and  went  through  the  country  to  stir  up  the  people 
to  look  after  the  "  consarns  of  their  latter  end,"  en- 
forced the  necessity  of  perseverance  in  good  works,  by 
comparing  a  true  Christian  to  an  opossum  up  a  tall 
sapling,  in  a  strong  wind.  Said  he,  "  My  brethren, 
that's  your  situation  exactly ;  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil,  compose  the  wind  that  is  trying  to  blow  you 
off  the  gospel  tree.  But  don't  let  go  of  it ;  hold  on  as 
a  'possum  would  in  a  hurricane.  If  the  fore  legs  of 
your  passions  get  loose,  hold  on  by  your  hind  legs  of 
conscientiousness  ;  and  if  they  let  go,  hold  on  eternally 
by  your  tail,  which  is  the  promise  that  the  saints  shall 
persevere  unto  the  end." 

As  an  animal  of  sport,  the  opossum  is  of  course  of 
an  inferior  character  ;  the  negroes,  however,  look  upon 
the  creature  as  the  most  perfect  of  game,  and  are  much 
astonished  that  the  fox  and  deer  should  be  preferred ; 
and  the  hilarity  with  which  they  pursue   the   sport  of 


OPOSSUM    IIUNTIXC;.  '^61 

'possum  hunting,  far  excels  the  enthusiasm  of  the  most 
inveterate  follower  after  nobler  beasts. 

Fine  moonlight  nights  are  generally  chosen  on  such 
occasions  ;  three  or  four  negroes,  armed  with  a  couple 
of  axes,  and  accompanied  by  a  cur  dog,  who  understands 
his  business,  will  .^ally  out  for  ■pos.suui  hunting:,  and 
nothing  can  be  more  joyous,  than  their  loud  laugh  and 
coarse  joke  on  these  midnight  hunts.  The  dog  scents 
the  animals,  for  they  are  numerous,  and  "  barks  up  the 
right  tree.''  A  torch  made  of  light  wood  or  pitch  pine, 
is  soon  diffusing  a  brilliant  light,  and  the  axe  is  struck 
into  the  tree  containing  the  game, — let  it  be  a  big  tree 
or  a  small  one,  it  matters  not ;  the  growth  of  a  century, 
or  of  a  few  years  only,  yields  to  the  "  forerunner  of  civ- 
ilization," and  comes  to  the  ground. 

While  this  is  going  on  the  dog  keeps  his  eye  on  the 
'possum,  barking  all  the  while  with  the  greatest  anima- 
tion. In  the  mean  time,  the  negroes,  as  they  relieve 
each  other  at  the  work  of  chopping,  make  night  vocal 
with  laughter  and  songs,  and  on  such  occasions  particu- 
larly, will  you  hear  "  Sitting  on  a  Rail,"  cavatina  fash- 
ion, from  voices  that  would  command  ten  thousand  a 
year  from  any  opera  manager  on  the  Continent. 

The  tree  begins  to  totter ;  the  motion  is  new  to  the 
'possum,  and  as  it  descends,  the  little  animal  instinc- 
tively climbs  to  the  highest  limb.  Crash,  and  off 
he  goes  to  the  ground,  and  not  unfreijuently  into  the 
very  jaws  of  the  dog ;  if  this  is  not  the  case,  a  sliort 


262         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

steeple  chase  on  foot  ensues  ;  'possum  finds  escape  im- 
possible,— feigns  himself  dead, — falls  into  the  wrong 
hands,  and  is  at  once,  really  killed. 

Such  is  opossum  hunting  among  the  negroes,  a  sport 
in  which  more  hard  labor  is  got  through  with  in  a  few 
hours  than  will  be  performed  by  the  same  individuals 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  next  day.  Sometimes  two 
or  three  opossums  are  killed, — and  if  a  negro  is  proud  of 
a  yellow  vest,  a  sky-blue  stock,  and  red  inexpressibles ; 
with  a  dead  opossum  in  his  possession,  he  is  sub- 
limated. 

Among  gentlemen,  we  have  seen  one  occasionally 
who  amuses  himself  with  bringing  down  an  opossum 
with  a  rifle,  and  we  have  met  one  who  has  given  the  hunt 
a  character,  and  really  reduced  it  to  a  science.  We 
were  expressing  some  surprise  at  the  kind  manner  with 
which  our  friend  spoke  of  opossum  hunting,  and  we 
were  disposed  to  laugh  at  his  taste ;  we  were  told  very 
gravely  that  we  were  in  the  presence  of  a  proficient  in 
'possum  hunting,  and  if  we  desired,  we  should  have  a 
specimen  at  sundown,  and  by  the  dignity  of  the  hunt  we 
would  be  compelled  to  admit  that  there  were  a  great 
many  ways  of  doing  the  same  thing.  The  proposition 
came  from  our  host,  and  we  at  once  consented. 

The  night  was  dark^  and  I  noticed  this,  and  spoke 
of  it;  and  the  reply  was,  that  such  a  night  only,  would 
answer  the  purpose.  A  half  hour's  ride  brought  us  into 
the  depths  of  the  forest,  and  in  the  extra  darkness   of 


OPOSSUM    HUNTING.  263 

its  deep  recesses  we  were  piloted  by  a  stout  negro  bear- 
ing a  torch.  Our  dug.s — for  there  were  two  of  them — 
soon  gave  notice  that  we  were  in  tiie  vicinity  of  an  opos- 
sum, and  finally,  directed  by  their  noses — for  eyes  were 
of  no  use — they  opened  loud  and  strong,  and  satisfied  us 
that  an  opossum  was  over  our  heads. 

At  this  moment  I  was  completely  puzzled  to  know 
how  we  were  to  get  at  the  animal,  I  must  confess ;  we 
had  no  axe,  and  a  millstone  intervening  between  the 
oppossum  and  our  eyes,  could  not  have  .shut  it  out  of 
sight  more  efi'cctually  than  did  the  surrounding  darkness, 
which  seemed  to  be  growing  "  thicker  "'  every  moment, 
by  contrast  with  the  glaring  torch. 

The  negro  who  accompanied  us,  without  ceremony 
kindled  a  large  fire  about  twenty  feet  from  the  base  of 
the  tree  in  which  our  game  was  lodged,  and  as  soon  as 
it  was  well  kindled  and  burning  merrily,  my  companion 
seated  himself  about  forty  feet  from  the  base  of  the 
tree,  bringing  the  trunk  of  it  directly  between  himself 
and  the  fire.  I  took  a  seat  by  his  side  by  request,  and 
waited  patiently  to  see  what  would  come  next.  The  fire 
continued  to  burn  each  moment  more  brightly,  and  the 
tree  that  intervened  between  us  and  it  became  more  pro- 
minent, and  its  dark  outline  became  more  and  more  dis- 
tinct, until  the  most  minute  branch  and  leaf  was  per- 
fectly visible. 

"  Now,"  said  mine  host,  •'  we  will  have  the  opos- 
sum.    Do  you  see  that   large  knotty-looking  substanct 


264  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

on  that  big  limb  to  the  right  ?  It  looks  suspicious  ;  we 
will  speak  to  it." 

The  sharp  report  of  the  rifle  followed,  and  the  negro 
that  accompanied  us  picked  up  a  large  piece  of  bark  that 
fell  rattling  to  the  ground.  The  rifle  was  reloaded,  and 
another  suspicious-looking  protuberance  was  fired  at,  and 
another  knot  was  shattered.  Again  was  the  rifle  reloaded, 
and  the  tree  more  carefully  examined.**  Hardly  had  its 
shrill  report  awakened  the  echoes  of  the  forest  for  the 
third  time,  before  a  grunt  that  would  have  done  honor 
to  a  stuck  pig  was  heard,  and  the  solid  fat  body  of  the 
'possum  fell  at  our  feet.  The  negro  picked  it  up,  relit 
his  torch,  and  we  proceeded  homeward. 

When  reseated  by  a  comfortable  fire,  we  were  asked 
our  opinion  by  our  host  of  "  a  white  man's  'possum 
hunt;  "  we  expressed  our  unqualified  approbation  of  the 
whole  afi"air,  although  we  thought  at  first  that  any  im- 
provement on  the  negro's  mode  of  doing  the  business 
would  be  "  painting  the  lily  !  " 

As  an  article  of  food  the  opossum  is  considered  by 
many  a  very  great  luxury  :  the  flesh,  it  is  said,  tastes  not 
unlike  roast  pig.  We  should  have  liked  very  much  to 
have  heard  "  Elia's  "  description  of  a  dish  of  it ;  he 
found  sentiment  and  poetry  in  a  pig, — where  would  he 
have  soared  to  over  a  dish  of  'possum  ? 

In  cooking  the  "  varmint,"  the  Indians  suspend  it  on 
a  stick  by  its  tail,  and  in  this  position  they  let  it  roast 
before  the  fire ;  this  mode   does  not  destroy  a  sort  of 


OPOSSUM    HUNTING.  265 

oiliness,  which  makes  it  to  a  cultivated  taste  coarse  and 
unpalatable. 

The  negroes,  on  the  contrary — and,  by  the  way,  they 
are  all  aniatours  in  the  cooking  art — when  cooking  for 
themselves,  do  much  better.  They  bury  the  body  up  with 
sweet  potatoes,  and  as  the  meat  roasts,  thus  confined,  the 
succulent  vegetables  draw  out  all  objectionable  tastes, 
and  render  the  opossum  ''  one  of  the  greatest  delica- 
cies in  the  world."  At  least,  so  say  a  crowd  of  respect- 
able witnesses.  We  profess  to  have  no  experience  in 
the  matter,  not  yet  having  learned  to  sing  with  enthusiasm 
the  common  negro  melody  of 

"  'Possum  fat  and  '  later.'  " 

12 


A  "HOOSIER^'  IN  SEARCH  OF   JUSTICE. 

About  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  New  Orleans 
reposes,  in  all  rural  happiness,  one  of  the  pleasantest 
little  towns  in  the  south,  that  reflects  itself  in  the  mys- 
terious waters  of  the  Mississippi. 

To  the  extreme  right  of  the  town,  looking  at  it  from 
the  river,  may  be  seen  a  comfortable-looking  building, 
surrounded  by  China  trees  ;  just  such  a  place  as  senti- 
mental misses  dream  of  when  they  have  indistinct  no- 
tions of  "  settling  in  the  world." 

This  little  "  burban  bandbox,"  however^  is  not  occu- 
pied by  the  airs  of  love,  nor  the  airs  of  the  lute,  but  by 
a  strong  limb  of  the  law,  a  gnarled  one  too,  who 
knuckles  down  to  business,  and  digs  out  of  the  "  uncer- 
tainties of  his  profession"  decisions,  and  reasons,  and 
causes,  and  effects,  nowhere  to  be  met  with,  except  in 
the  science  called,  par  excellence,  the  "  perfection  of  hu- 
man reason." 


A    "  HOOSIER  "    IN    SEARCH    OF    JUSTICE.  207 

Around  the  interior  walls  of  this  romantic-looking 
place  may  be  found  an  extensive  library,  where  all 
the  "  statutes,"  from  Moses'  time  down  to  the  present 
day,  are  ranged  side  by  side  ;  in  these  musty  books  the 
owner  revels  day  and  night,  digesting  "  digests,"  and 
growing  the  while  sallow,  with  indigestion. 

On  the  evening-time  of  a  fine  summer's  day,  the  sage 
lawyer  might  have  been  seen  walled  in  with  books  and 
manuscripts,  his  eye  full  of  thought,  and  his  bald  high 
forehead  sparkling  with  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  as 
if  his  genius  was  making  itself  visible  to  the  senses ; 
page  after  page  he  searched,  musty  parchments  were 
scanned,  an  expression  of  care  and  anxiety  indented 
itself  on  the  stern  features  of  his  face,  and  with  a  sigh 
of  despair  he  desisted  from  his  labors,  uttering  aloud 
his  feelings  that  he  feared  his  case  was  a  hopeless  one. 

Then  he  renewed  again  his  mental  labor  with  tenfold 
vigor,  making  the  very  silence,  with  which  he  pursued 
his  thoughts,  ominous,  as  if  a  .spirit  were  in  his  presence. 

The  door  of  the  lawyer's  office  opened,  there  pressed 
forward  the  tall,  gaunt  figure  of  a  man,  a  perfect  model 
of  physical  power  and  endurance — a  western  flatboatmau. 
The  lawyer  heeded  not  his  presence,  and  started  as  if 
from  a  dream,  as  the  har.sh  tones  of  inquiry,  grated  upon 
his  ear,  of, 

*'  Does  a  'Squire  live  here  ?  " 

*•  They  call  me  so,"  was  the  reply,  as  soon  as  he 
had  recovered  from  his  astonishment. 


268         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

"  Well,  'Squire,"  continued  the  intruder,  "  I  have 
got  a  ease  for  jon,  and  I  want  jestess,  if  it  costs  the  best 
load  of  produce  that  ever  come  from  In-di-an." 

The  man  of  the  law  asked  what  was  the  difBculty. 

"  It's  this,  'Squire  ;  I'm  bound  for  Orleans,  and  put 
in  here  for  coffee  and  other  little  fixins ;  a  chap  with  a 
face  whiskered  up  like  a  prairie  dog,  says,  says  he, 

• '  Stranger,  I  see  you've  got  cocks  on  board  of  your 
boat — bring  one  ashore,  and  I'll  pit  one  against  him 
that'll  lick  his  legs  off  in  less  time  than  you  could  gaff 
him.'  Well,  'Squire,  /  7iever  take  a  dar.  Says  I, 
'  Stranger,  I'm  thar  at  wunce ;'  and  in  twenty  minutes  the 
cocks  were  on  the  levee,  like  parfect  saints, 

"  We  chucked  them  together,  and  my  bird,  'Squire, 
now  mind,  'Squire,  my  bird  never  struck  a  lick,  not  a 
single  blow,  but  tuck  to  his  heels  and  run,  and  by  thun- 
ders, threw  up  his  feed,  actewelly  vomited.  The  stake- 
holder gave  up  the  money  agin  me,  and  now  I  want 
jestess  ;  as  sure  as  fogs,  my  bird  was  physicked,  or  he'd 
stood  up  to  his  business  like  a  wild  cat." 

The  lawyer  heard  the  story  with  patience,  but  flatly 
refused  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  the  matter. 

"  Prehaps,"  said  the  boatman,  drawing  out  a  corpu- 
lent pocket-book,  "  prehaps  you  think  I  can't  pay — here's 
the  money  ;  help  yourself — give  me  jestess,  and  draw  on 
my  purse  like  an  ox  team." 

To  the  astonishment  of  the  flatboatman,  the  lawyer 
still  refused,  but  unlike  many  of  his  profession,  gave  his 


A  llOdMKK  IN     M.AUCll     OF    JUbTlLE.  ^bO 

would  be  client,  without  charL'o,  some  general  advice 
about  going  on  board  of  bis  boat,  shoving  off  for  New 
Orleans,  and,  abandoning  the  suit  altogether. 

The  flatboatman  stared  with  profound  astonishment, 
and  asked  the  lawyer  "  If  he  was  a  sure  enough  'Squire." 

Receiving  an  affirmative  reply,  he  pressed  every  ar- 
gument he  could  use,  to  have  him  undertake  his  case  and 
get  him  "jestess;-'  but  when  he  found  tluit  liis  efforts 
were  unavailing,  he  quietly  seated  himself  for  the  first 
time,  put  his  hat  aside, — crossed  his  legs, — then  looking 
up  to  the  ceiling  with  the  expression  of  great  patience, 
he  requested  the  "  'Squire,  to  read  to  him  the  Louisiana 
laws  on  cock-fighting.'' 

The  lawyer  said  that  he  did  not  know  of  a  single 
statute  in  the  State  upon  the  subject.  The  boatman 
started  up  as  if  he  had  been  shot,  exclaiming — 

**No  laws  in  the  State  on  cock-fighting?  No,  no, 
'Squire,  you  can't  possum  me ;  give  us  the  law." 

The  refusal  again  followed  ;  the  astonishment  of  the 
boatman  increased,  and  throwing  himself  in  a  comico- 
heroic  attitude,  he  waved  his  long  fingers  around  the 
sides  of  the  room  and  asked, 

"  What  all  them  thar  books  were  about  ?  " 

"  All  about  the  law." 

"  Well  then,  'Squire,  am  I  to  understand  that  not 
one  of  them  thar  books  contain  a  single  law  on  cock- 
fighting  ?  " 

'•  You  are." 


270  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

"  And,  'Squire,  am  I  to  understand  that  thar  ain't 
no  laws  in  Louisiana  on  cock-fighting  ?  " 

"  You  are." 

"  And  am  I  to  understand  that  you  call  yourself  a 
'Squire,  and  that  you  don't  know  any  thing  about  cock- 
fighting?" 

"  You  are." 

The  astonishment  of  the  boatman  at  this  reply  for  a 
moment  was  unbounded,  and  then  suddenly  ceased ;  the 
awe  with  which  he  looked  upon  "  the  'Squire "  also 
ceased,  and  resuming  his  natural  awkward  and  familiar 
carriage,  he  took  up  his  hat,  and  walking  to  the  door, 
with  a  broad  grin  of  supreme  contempt  in  his  face,  he 
observed, — 

"  That  a  'Squire  that  did  not  know  the  laws  of  cock- 
fighting,  in  his  opinion,  was  distinctly  an  infernal  old 
chuckel-headed  fool ! " 


MAJOR  GASDEN'S  STORY. 

No  one  told  a  story  better  than  old  Major  (iasden — 
in  fact  he  could  detail  very  commonplace  incidents  so 
dramatically,  that  he  would  ^rive  them  a  real  interest. 
He  had  met  with  a  little  incident  on  his  first  visit  to 
New  Orleans,  that  was  to  him  a  source  of  either  con- 
stant humor  or  annoyance.  Whichever  view  he  took 
of  the  adventure,  gave  character  to  his  illustration  of  it. 
The  "  major,"  on  a  certain  occasion,  formed  one  of 
a  happy  party,  and  growing  communicative  under  the  in- 
fluence of  genial  society  and  old  port,  was  imprudent 
enough  to  call  on  several  persons  near  and  around  liim 
for  songs  and  sentiments — which  calls  being  promptly 
honored, — the  ^fajor  very  unexpectedly  found  himself 
under  the  immense  obligation  of  doing  something  for  his 
friends  himself;  and  as  he  could  not  sing,  and  hated  salt 
water,  he  compromised,  by  relating  the  following  per- 
sonal adventure. 


272  THE    lliVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUXTER. 

We  give  it  as  nearly  verbatim  as  possible,  but  must 
premise,  that  from  an  occasional  twinkle  that  we  noticed 
in  the  Major's  eyes,  w^e  have  never  been  perfectly  satis- 
fied that  he  did  not,  to  use  the  language  of  an  Irish 
friend  of  ours,  "make  an  intentional  mistake." 

"  There  ought  to  be  nothing  about  a  dinner,  gene- 
rally speaking,"  commenced  the  Major,  "  to  make  it  an 
era  in  one's  history  in  any  way. 

"  The  power  merely  to  gratify  the  appetite  just  suf- 
ficient to  sustain  life,  is  eating  in  poverty ;  a  life  spent 
merely  in  gratifying  the  appetite,  is  brutal.     We  like  a 
good  dinner,  and  we  sit  down  to  one  with  that  compla- 
cency of  feeling  that  denotes  a  thankfulness,  that  may 
properly  be  called,  a  silent  blessing ;  yet  we  feel  more 
pity  for  a  man  who  recollects  his  bad  dinners,  than  we  do 
for  one  who  distinctly  remembers  his  good  ones.   In  every- 
day life,  things  commemorative  often  start  from  the  ta- 
ble.  '  Do  you  remember,'   says  Gustibus,  '  that  so  and 
so  happened  the  day  we  ate  the  fresh  salmon  ?  '     'I  re- 
member the   event,'  replies   Dulce,  '  from  that  exquisite 
bon-mot  uttered  on  the  occasion.' 

"  I  remember  my  first  dinner  in  New  Orleans  as  dis- 
tinctly as  I  remember  my  first  love.  I  trust  it  was  im- 
pressed upon  my  mind  through  the  excitement  of  the 
intellect,  as  well  as  through  the  gratification  of  the  senses. 
As  I  journeyed  on  to  New  Orleans  for  the  first  time, 
I  naturally  suggested  to  my  travelling  companion,  my 
desire   to  be  most  pleasantly  provided  for  while  in  the 


MAJOR    GASDEN's    STORY.  273 

city,  and  contrary  to  his  usual  custom,  he  launched  forth 
in  eloquent  declamation  upon  the  table  of  his  host,  drew 
pictures  of  luxuries  that  threw  my  most  sanguine  antici- 
pations of  good  living  into  the  shade,  and  caused  me  to 
look  forward  with  an  interest  to  the  gratification  of  my 
palate  that  I  had  never  before  indulged  in. 

"  I  landed  on  the  '  levee  '  of  New  Orleans  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  morning ;  although  it  was  early  spring,  a  glo- 
rious sun,  such  as  Pomona  loves,  was  making  every  thing 
look  gay;  the  swollen  Mississippi  dashed  a  few  waves 
over  the  artificial  barrier  that  confined  it  to  its  channel, 
and  as  they  crowded  along  in  little  rivulets,  they  spar- 
kled like  molten  silver  and  gold,  indicative,  as  we  thought, 
of  the  wealth  which  was  borne  upon  its  waters,  and 
paid  tribute  to  the  city. 

"  I  need  not  say  where  I  ate  my  first  dinner  in  New 
Orleans.  The  dining  hall  was  a  long  one  and  the  diners 
numerous.  I  made  my  entrance  after  the  soup  dishes 
had  done  their  office,  and  was,  of  course,  a  little  late. 

*  It  might  have  been  the  exercise,  or  excitement, 
or  a  hastily-eaten  breakfiist,  that  made  me  feel  in  the 
spirit  of  enjoying  a  good  dinner,  for  I  was  unusually 
disposed  that  way;  and  looked  down  the  long  tables, 
crowded  to  excess,  with  great  concern,  for  fear  there 
would  be  no  room  for  me,  until  that  melancholy  time, 
when  gravies  cool  into  water  and  globules  of  fat,  and 
meats  are  just  as  warm  as  when  alive ;  the  cruets  half 
filled,  and  the   clotli  awrv.     I  trembled  at  the  prospect, 


274  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

when,  to  my  inexpressible  relief,  on  my  left,  near  the 
door,  at  the  top  of  the  two  long  dining  tables,  was  a 
small  round  one,  at  which  sat  some  six  or  eight  gentle- 
men. A  single  chair  was  unoccupied,  and  without  cere- 
mony, I  appropriated  it  to  myself. 

"  I  never  saw  a  man  come  in  late  to  dinner  who  did  not 
endeavor  to  look  around  on  the  company  present,  with 
that  sort  of  expression  which  signifies  '  Who  cares  if  I 
did  come  in  late  ? '  I  looked  that  way,  and  happened  to 
feel  so  too  ;  and  as  I  cast  my  eyes  on  the  gentlemen  at 
my  right  and  left,  and  before  me,  I  paid  no  attention 
whatever  to  the  cold  stare  I  met  with,  as  if  intending 
to  make  me  feel  that  I  was  intruding. 

"  In  this  excellent  humor  with  all  the  world  and  my- 
self, I  asked  the  waiter  with  a  loud  voice  for  soup,  hot  if 
possible,  and  I  found  myself  accommodated  in  the  twink- 
ling of  a  ladle.  I  went  to  work  lustily  to  lay  the  foun- 
dation of  what  my  friend  in  the  morning  had  promised, 
an  extra  splendid  dinner, 

"  Oysters  and  fish,  as  a  first  course,  seem  to  be 
founded  in  nature,  reason,  and  taste, — I  accordingly 
made  the  reflection  to  the  gentleman  on  my  right — he 
very  formally  assented  to  the  proj)osition,  and  ate  spar- 
ingly. I  pressed  him  with  great  solicitude  to  follow  my 
example, — and  do  justice  to  the  viands  before  him.  He 
suggested  that  he  was  troubled  with  a  dyspepsia.  This 
little  conversation  was  received  by  the  whole  table  with 
what  I  remember  now,  and  then  for  a  moment,  thought 


MAJOR    GASDEN's    STORY.  275 

was  an  unnecessary  quantity  of  laughter,  particularly  by 
a  gentleman  at  the  foot  of  the  table,  presuming  I  sat  at 
the  head.  This  person,  however,  had  a  sparkling  eye 
and  a  rubicund  nose,  and  I  concluded  that  he  was  easily 
pleased,  and  thought  nothing  more  of  the  matter;  at 
the  same  time  feeling  great  sympathy  for  my  friend  ou 
my  right,  whom  I  set  down  as  a  very  bashful  man. 

"  The  venison,  all  trembling  about  in  its  dish,  with 
its  spirit  lamps,  and  wine  condiments,  was  very  beautiful 
indeed,  but  to  me  not  so  much  of  a  rarity  as  it  would 
have  been,  had  I  not  lived  in  a  country  where  deer  were 
plenty.  Determined  to  call  out  the  bashful  man,  I  ob- 
served to  him  if  I  had  had  the  arrangement  of  the 
dinner,  I  should  have  ordered  roast  beef,  as  I  had  un- 
derstood New  Orleans  was  growing  quite  celebrated  for 
that  dish.  The  bashful  man  smiled,  the  rest  of  the 
table  were  delighted,  and  it  was  agreed  that  it  was  a 
most  valuable  suggestion. 

"  Thus  encouraged,  I  went  on  to  inform  all  present, 
that,  the  sweetest  venison  I  ever  tasted  was  while 
'  travelling  ou  the  frontier ; '  that  it  was  not  cooked 
like  the  steaks  in  the  chafing  dish  before  us,  but  merely 
jerked  off"  of  the  carcass,  thrown  on  living  coals  of  fire, 
and  then  while  steaming  hot,  devoured  with  the  simple 
addition  of  jKjpper  and  salt.  Hereupon  the  gentleman 
with  the  rubicund  nose,  told  the  bashful  man  that  this 
second  suggestion  of  mine  was  invaluable,  and  another 
unnecessarily  hearty  laugh  followed. 


276         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

"  Prairie  hens  of  a  most  delicate  flavor  followed 
after  the  meats  ;  they  were  really  delicious  ;  they  came 
from  Illinois,  somebody  said,  and  showed  the  enterprise 
of  the  landlord  of  the  hotel — so  I  thought  and  uttered, 
and  my  feelings  in  this  matter  were  entirely  appreciated 
by  the  little  group  around  me. 

"  The  becasse^  as  they  were  announced,  excited  my 
unbounded  astonishment;  there  they  were,  in  a  large 
dish,  packed  side  by  side  *  like  newly-married  couples,' 
round  as  globes,  and  looking  as  inviting  as  ice  in 
August. 

"  I  took  one  in  my  plate,  turned  it  over  and  over, 
and  discovered  to  my  horror  that  the  bird  had  probably 
committed  suicide  by  running  its  own  bill  through  its 
body,  and  as  I  drew  it  out  I  ejaculated, 

"  '  Woodcock,  as  I  live  ! ! '" 

"  My  bashful  friend  responded,  '  Exactly  so.' 

"  I  helped  every  body ;  the  birds  flew  about  under 
my  administration  as  if  they  were  alive  and  mad,  and 
there  was  a  general  display  of  the  most  cheering  good 
humor  at  my  beneficent  liberality. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  the  two  long  tables  of  the  hotel 
were  deserted,  the  waiters  at  them  were  walking  about 
munching  bits  of  bread  and  other  odd  ends,  piling  up 
plates,  and  'clearing  ofi";'  but  our  little  party  grew 
more  and  more  merry  and  happy,  wine,  delicious  and 
old,  flowed  freely ;  course  after  course  followed,  and  then 
came  a  thousand  varieties  of  the  confectioner's  skill. 


MAJOR  garden's  story.  277 

"  Toasts  and  sentiments,  really  new,  were  engendered 
by  the  old  wine,  songs  sentimental  and  patriotic  ;  bosom 
friends  were  we  all,  mingling  together  as  sweetly  and 
harmoniously  as  the  waters  of  the  vale  of  Avoca. 

"  For  my  own  part,  I  was  particularly  happy  in  my 
feelings  and  remarks,  whatever /5«zV/  was  received  with 
a  roar,  in  fact  I  never  met  with  the  same  number  of 
gentlemen  so  easily  pleased  and  so  congenial. 

"  The  sun  gradually  sunk  in  the  west,  and  the  sug- 
gestion of  caudles  by  an  attendant  proved  a  signal  for 
departure — one  more  glass  around  and  a  sentiment  from 
myself  was  to  finish.  Requesting  all  to  fill  to  the  brim, 
I  raised  my  glass  on  high,  and  thus  addressed  my 
friends : 

"  '  Gentlemen — I  have  heard  much  of  the  fine  tables 
spread  in  New  Orleans,  particularly  of  this  hotel,  and 
of  the  enterprise  of  its  host.  I  have  heard  nothing  equal 
to  their  respective  or  joint  merits  {great  app/ausc,  the 
rubiaoid-yiosed  man  brcalwg  his  glass  in  enthusiasm). 
The  whole  of  this  afi'air  is  only  surpassed  in  my  expe- 
rience, or  most  inflated  dreams,  by  you,  gentlemen  (cast- 
ing a  sort  of  patronising  look  around  me),  by  you,  gen- 
tlemen,— in  your  social,  literary,  and  scientific  attain- 
ments ' — {trcmeridous  cheering). 

''  I  concluded,  in  a  halo  of  glory,  with  '  A  health  to 
our  host,' 

"  This  speech  or  sentiment — was  drank  to  the  bottom, 
two  gentlemen  fell  under  the  tabic,  and  four  suspender 


278  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

buttons  rattled  against  the  windows  opposite  me.  Shak- 
ing hands  with  all  who  could  go  through  the  ceremony, 
I  left  the  table,  whereon  had  been  eaten  the  best  dinner 
of  my  life — where  I  had  met  the  cleverest  party  ever 
assembled  to  my  knowledge ;  such  was  my  first  dinner  in 
New  Orleans. 

"  It  was  nearly  one  o'clock  at  night,  when  I  met  my 
friend  with  whom  I  had  parted  in  the  morning.  I  found 
him  in  his  room  suffering  from  a  severe  attack  of  the  colic ; 
I  was  still  under  the  pleasurable  excitement  of  my  din- 
ner, its  effects  were  still  radiating  about  my  brain  like 
heat  from  a  cooliug  stove.  I  was  very  communicative 
about  the  events  of  the  day,  and  among  other  things  ex- 
ceedingly grateful  to  my  sick  friend  for  introducing  me 
to  such  a  splendid  hotel  and  to  such  good  dinners. 

''  'Good  dinners,'  he  groaned,  'do  I  look  as  if  I  had 
eaten  a  good  dinner  ?  nearly  dead  from  swallowing  cab- 
bage and  pork.' 

"  The  very  mention  of  such  gross  aliment  made  me 
sick,  and  I  asked  him  where  he  dined,  with  undisguised 
alarm. 

"  '  In  the  hotel,  to  be  sure,'  was  his  reply. 
"  I  told  him  that  he  was  dreaming,  and  to  convince 
him,  gave  him  a  hurried  description  of  my  own  dinner 
at  the  same  time  and  place.  The  severe  pains  of  the 
colic  could  not  altogether  destroy  the  mysterious  mean- 
ing of  my  friend's  eyes  as  he  looked  up,  and  informed 
me  that  the  table  I  sat  down  at  was  2i  private  table,  and 


MAJOR    GASDEN's    STORY.  279 

the  diiiiMT  that  had  given  mc  .'^o  much  satisfaction  was 
a  "  game  dinner,"  got  up  at  great  expense,  and  under 
the  immediate  superintendence  of  celebrated  bo7i 
vivaiUs. 

"  The  conceit  of  my  ability  to  amuse  a  party  of 
strangers  at  the  social  board,  vanished  into  thin  air;  the 
cause  of  the  wit  of  my  jokes  was  revealed, — fortunate, 
indeed,  as  I  was,  in  eating  a  good  dinner,  I  was  still 
more  fortunate  in  meeting  with  a  party  of  gentlemen, 
who  were  too  delicate-  to  hint  at  any  explanations  that 
would,  in  their  presence,  inform  me  of  my  amusing  mis 
take. 


THE  GREAT  FOUR-MILE  DAY. 

[This  ■western  sketch  was  elicited  from  a  celebrated  but  idle  pen,  by  per- 
sonal friendship  for  the  "  Bee  Hunter."  Its  great  merit  and  originality  cannot 
fail  to  be  -widely  appreciated.] 

The  city  of  Louisvillej  in  the  fall  of  1822,  was  visited 
by  an  epidemic,  which  decimated  its  population,  and 
converted  the  dwellings  of  its  inhabitants,  erewhile  the 
abodes  of  pleasantness  and  hospitality,  into  houses  of 
mourning.  The  records  of  the  devastations  of  the  fell 
intruder,  are  to  be  found  inscribed  upon  the  headstones 
that  whiten  the  ancient  graveyard  of  the  town,  wherein 
are  deposited  the  bodies  of  those,  who,  whilst  sojourning 
upon  earth,  dispensed  the  good  things  of  this  world  with 
graceful  liberality,  and  made  a  home  for  the  wayfarer 
amidst  a  people  upon  whom  he  had  no  other  claim  than 
that  of  a  stranger.  The  Angel  of  Death  hovered  over 
the  devoted  city  in  remorseless  ecstasy,  pointing  the 
shafts  of  his  exhaustless  quiver  in  every  direction,  and 


THE    GREAT    FOIRMILE    DAY.  281 

Striking  down  in  preference,  the  .sliiiiing  objects  of 
public  consideration  and  regard.  I  was  among  those 
who  felt  the  winnowing  of  his  wings  as  he  flitted  past 
my  couch  in  quest  of  nobler  trophies. 

All  those  who  were  not  obliged  to  remain  witliin  the 
doomed  precincts  of  the  city,  fled  to  places  afar  off"; 
while  such  as  mere  necessity  required  to  abide  the  pes- 
tilence, resorted  to  the  most  ingenious  devices  to  escape 
its  visitation.  Those  who  were  overlooked  by  the  De- 
stroyer in  his  wratli,  were  near  being  starved,  as  few 
country  people  dared  bring  marketing  into  the  town,  and 
those  who  did  so,  only  ventured  within  interdicted  limits 
at  certain  hours  of  the  day,  and  right  hastily  did  they 
retreat  to  their  more  salubrious  abodes.  Amid  the 
general  desolation,  the  incidents  of  woe  were  strangely 
mingled  with  those  that  cheated  Death,  momentarily,  of 
his  horrors. 

It  were  a  scene  that  might  have  provoked  the  atten- 
tion of  Atropos  herself,  and  made  her  pause  awhile  in  her 
terrible  vocation,  to  smile  upon  the  ludicrous  means  that 
terror  invented  to  thwart  the  purposes  of  Destiny.  The 
emaciated  figures  of  the  convalescent  citizen,  strangely 
contrasted  with  the  stalwart  frame  of  the  hardy  yeoman, 
whilst  the  cadaverous  aspect  of  the  former  added  to  the 
grotesqueness  of  the  besmeared  faces  of  the  latter. 

The  farmer,  moved  either  by  compassion  or  love  of 
gain  to  visit  the  town,  as  he  penetrated  the  city  as  far 
as   the  market-house,   wouhl    use  amulets  and    bags  of 


282         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

sulphur,  and  besmeared  his  nose  and  lips  with  tar,  to 
protect  him  in  inhaling  the  tainted  atmosphere  ;  and 
whilst  he  exposed  his  poultry  for  sale,  kept  continually 
burning  about  his  stall  aromatic  herbs,  such  as  penny- 
royal, sage  and  tansy,  to  aj^pease  or  appal  the  dread  in- 
tent of  Azrael. 

It  was  with  a  bounding  heart,  that  late  in  September 
I  learned  that  I  was  well  enough  to  be  removed  beyond 
the  sound  of  the  church  bell,  whose  daily  tolling  an- 
nounced to  me,  as  I  lay  prostrate,  the  death  of  some 
schoolmate,  whose  merry  laugh  would  never  more  be 
heard  upon  the  bowling-green ;  or  the  demise  of  some 
ancient  crone  or  new  comer,  whose  gossip  or  whose  en- 
terprise was  the  pastime  of  the  youth,  or  the  theme  of 
speculation  amongst  the  fathers  of  the  city.  The  luxu- 
riant forests  had  just  assumed  the  russet  garb  of  autumn, 
as  I  once  more  found  myself  without  the  city,  and  right 
speedily  did  the  bracing  country  air  and  association  with 
people  whose  hearth-stone  had  not  been  visited  by  pesti- 
lence, exert  their  influence  in  restoring  me  both  to  cheer- 
fulness and  strength. 

My  destination  was  Shelby  county,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  village  of  that  name,  where  I  remained  un- 
til November.  It  was  during  the  latter  part  of  Octo- 
ber that  the  events  transpired  that  will  form  the  subject 
of  this  brief  history,  and  the  character  of  the  incident 
will  probably  excuse  the  digression  with  which  it  is  be- 
gun ;  for,  as  will  be  presently  seen,  the  epidemic  had  a 


THK    (;REAT    FOIR-MILE    DAY.  283 

principal  agency  in  producing  the  catastrophe,  which, 
had  it  not  happened,  would  have  spared  me  the  task  of 
chronicling  an  achievement  in  turf  matters,  more  re- 
markable than  the  connection  between  pestilence  and 
the  setjucl  ot"  these  pages. 

On   the  third   Saturday   (if  I    renieuiber  aright)  of 

October,   \&2'2,  the  Hon.  J L called    for  me 

on  his  way  to  the  Jockey  Club  Races,  on  the  fourniilc 
day.  He  had  taken  up  the  impression  that  a  race  would 
be  a  source  of  amusement  and  advantage  to  me ;  and  in 
the  fulfilment  of  a  humane  purpose,  had  brought  along 
with  him  an  Indian  pony,  that  went  by  the  euphoneous 
name  of  "  Boots,"  given  as  much  for  shortness,  as 
by  reason  of  the  color  of  the  animal,  which  was  an 
equivocation  between  a  sandy  brown  and  a  dingy  black 
— ^just  that  of  a  pair  of  boots,  which  had  not  received 
the  polishing  aid  of  the  black  for  an  indefinite  period. 
Astride  of  this  epitome  of  a  horse,  I  made  my  first  ap- 
pearance upon  a  race-course.  I  was  then  only  ten 
years  of  age,  and  the  impressions  made  upon  my  mind 
at  that  time  are  more  vivid  than  those  of  a  later  day, 
and  of  more  important  character. 

There  were  then  no  spacious  stands  erected  for  tlie 
accommodation  of  visitors.  Upon  a  mound  within  the 
circle  of  the  track  were  collected,  what  was  then  con- 
sidered, a  vast  number  of  carriages,  containing  the  aris- 
tocratic beauty  of  the  country — thougli  perhaps  some  of 
the  fair  patrons  of  the  turf  might  at  this  time,  or  tlieir 


284         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

daughters  for  them,  turn  up  their  seraphic  uoses  at  the 
rude  contrivances  that  rejoiced  at  so  recent  a  period  in 
the  appellation.  About  the  field  were  horsemen  innu- 
merable, and  upon  the  adjacent  hills  were  thronged  the 
less  fortunate  spectators,  who  could  muster  neither 
wheeled  vehicle,  nor  four-footed  beast  for  the  occasion. 
The  scene  was  one  of  animation,  and  to  my  young  im- 
agination,— of  unsurpassable  brillianc}'-. 

We  had  not  been  long  upon  the  ground  before  we  as- 
certained that  something  was  amiss.  Every  body  wore  an 
uneasy  and  fidgetty  aspect,  the  cause  of  which  was  soon 
discovered.  By  the  rules  of  the  Jockey  Club,  it  re- 
quired three  entries  to  make  a  race.  There  was  no 
walking  over  the  course,  in  those  days.  Every  purse 
taken,  had  to  be  won  gallantly  of  at  least  two  competi- 
tors. Only  two  horses  had  been  entered,  and  the  sport 
seemed  about  to  be  broken  up  for  want  of  a  third. 
There  were  other  nags  of  "  lineage  pure  "  in  attendance, 
but  their  owners  were  afraid  to  start  them  against  the 
celebrated  Blannerhassctt^  and  the  no  less  celebrated 
Epaminonclas. 

In  this  strait  the  concourse  of  assembled  people 
grew  ill-natured,  and  even  the  ladies  pouted  in  sore 
disappointment.  The  owners  and  trainers  of  the  re- 
nowned coursers,  which  were  held  apart  for  want  of  a 
go-between,  vaunted  the  performances  of  their  respective 
nags  and  looked  daggers  at  the  judges,  whose  conscien- 
tious scruples  would  not  permit  the  purse  to  be  taken. 


THE    GREAT    FOlR.MILE    DAY.  285 

but  in  conformity  to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the 
club. 

The  famous  racer,  J H ,  hoj^pcd  about  the 

track  with  accelerated  motion,  in  calling  the  public  at- 
tention to  the  prominent  points  of  JSh?inerhasselt,  who 
was  to  be  abated  of  his  laurels  by  a  rule,  which  he  stig- 
matized with  many  epithets,  having  reference  to  eternal 

darkness ;  whilst  Dr.  B was  no  less  industrious  in 

extolling  the  merits  of  Ejmmiiiondas,  who  happened  to 
be  precisely  in  the  same  situation  with  his  competitor. 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  ladies  were  making 
preparation  to  leave,  and  the  gentleman  had  begun  to 
arrange  for  "  scrubbing,"  when  the  Judge  called  out 
from  the  stand  in  a  loud  voice  (trumpets  were  not  then 
in  vogue),  "  saddle  your  horses  !  "  What  a  thrill  passed 
through  the  crowd  I  and  with  what  emotions  did  I  hear 
these  sounds. 

The  public,  generally,  was  greatly  overjoyed  at  the 
prospect  of  the  race,  but,  nevertheless,  there  were  many 
who  were  anxious  to  know  upon  what  authority  the 
judges  had  ordered  the  horses  to  be  saddled;  and  these 
were,  generally,  the  very  persons  who  were  most  boister- 
ous in  abusing  them  for  their  obstinacy,  when  it  was  ap 
prehended  that  there  would  be  no  sport. 

Upon  inquiry,  it  was  found  out  that   the   Hon.  J. 

L ,  in  conjunction  with  three  other  gentlemen,  viz., 

Hon.  J.  T ,  M.    II -,  and  U.  B ,  Esqrs.,  had 

actually  entered   a  third  horse,  and   thereby  made  the 


286         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

race    in   all  respects,  conformable   to   the   rules  of  the 

club. 

The  strict  constructionists  were  not  satisfied,  how- 
ever, with  the  announcement  of  the  third  entry  ;  they 
demanded  to  see  the  animal — and  I  well  remember  the 
air  of  ruffled  dignity  with  which  the  owner  of  "  Boots  " 
bade  me  get  up  behind  him,  to  have  the  "  great  un 
known  "  led  up  to  the  stand  for  inspection,  and  sad- 
dled, or  rather  unsaddled,  for  the  race. 

The  "  Boots  "  party  had  made  the  entry  with  no  in- 
tention of  running  him.  It  was  on  their  part  a  gra- 
tuitous subscription  of  the  sum  required,  to  prevent  the 
spectators  from  going  home  in  chagrin  and  disappoint- 
ment. But  when  pushed  to  this  extremity,  they  not 
only  produced  the  nominee,  but  actually  resolved  upon 
making  a  brush  for  the  money — as  much  in  derision  of 
the  scruples  of  the  malcontents,  as  in  obedience  to  a  cer- 
tain spirit  of  the  old  Adam  in  them,  which  revolted 
against  the  uncharitable  suggestions  of  collusion  bruited 
about  the  course,  when  it  was  said,  that  the  third  entry 
would  not  exhibit  himself  for  the  contest. 

Upon  the  threshold  of  his  ingress  into  the  theatre 
of  fame,  poor  "  Boots  "  met  with  an  obstacle  that  well 
nigh  nipped  his  prospects  in  the  bud.  The  rules  of  the 
club  required  the  pedigree  of  every  horse  entered  to  be 
stated.  Alas,  "  Boots  "  had  neither  scutcheon  nor  an- 
cestry. His  age  was  of  little  consequence.  His  pres- 
ent owner  had  come  in  possession  of  him  ten  years  be- 


THE    GREAT    FOUR-MILE    DAY.  287 

fore  that  time,  and  consequently  he  was  set  down  as 
"  aged/'  a  tenu  of  scope  and  verge  enough  to  satisfy  the 
most  fastidious.  But  his  pedigree  !  There  was  the 
rub. 

''  B(X)ts  ''  was  an  orphan  upon  the  paternal  side 
from  birth,  and  the  mother's  too,  so  far  as  any  one  could 
say  to  tlic  contrary.  lie  wa.«<  wliut  is  called  filius  nul- 
/us,  or  nobody's  child,  and  conseijuently  had  a  right  to 
claim  any  one  for  parent  he  thought  fit.  His  owner 
plead  to  be  allowed  to  enter  him  as  "  a  charity  scholar,*' 
but  this  could  not  be  granted.  At  length  a  compro- 
mise was  made,  and  "  Boots  ''  appeared  upon  the  field 
under  the  following  imposing  blazon  and  protection. 

"The  Hon.  J.  L enters  bl.  h.  '  Boots,'  aged;  by 

'  T(ir,'  out  of  a  ^CujT^  mare,  of  unknown  extraction." 

These  preliminaries  settled,  the  thoroughbreds  were 
saddled,  and  the  saddle  was  taken  off  of  "  Boots  "  for 
the  contest.  A  negro  lad  who  had  ridden  him  as  far  as 
the  hou.se  where  I  resided,  and  who  was  allowed  by  his 
master  to  go  to  the  races,  as  he  had  to  wait  till  they 
were  over  to  take  him  home,  was  mounted  upon  him. 
Great  was  the  laughter  of  the  crowd  when  the  horses 
were  about  starting.  The  pawing  impatience  of  the 
over-trained  racers,  attracted  little  attention.  The 
gaze  of  the  multitude  was  upon  the  black  pony.  '•' Bltni- 
ncrhassctf  neighed,  and  ^'Epaminondas^'  snorted, — 
but  all  to  no  purpose.  No  one  cared  to  look  at  them. 
"  Boots "'  was  like  a  Merry  Andrew  in  a  deep  tragedy — 


288 


THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 


he  bad  completely  upset  the  gravity  of  the  audience, 
whose  powers  of  composing  themselves  to  the  thoughtful 
mood  becoming  the  occasion,  seemed  gone  for   ever,  to 

the  great  chagrin  of  J.  H ,  and   Dr.  B ,   who 

cavorted  about  in  their  anger,  as  much  as  their  horses. 

First  Heat. — There  was  great  difficulty  in  starting 
the  horses.  Several  false  "get  offs  "  were  made.  The 
star  actors  in  the  drama  pirouetted  most  provokingly, 
whilst  the  rider  of  ^'■Boots''''  made  Jiim  toe  the  line, 
where  he  waited  with  meekness  and  humility  for  the 
word  "  go,"  and  even  after  tJiat  was  given,  manifested 
little  anxiety  to  change  his  position. 

The  thorough-breds  went  at  it,  pell-mell.  The  un- 
due share  of  attention  given  to  "  Boots  "  by  the  crowd, 
had  first  nettled  their  owners  and  afterwards  their  jock- 
eys. Away  they  went  like  twin  bullets,  leaving  ^^ Boots  " 
so  far  behind,  that  before  the  first  mile  was  done  he  was 
lost  sight  of.  "When  they  entered  the  quarter  stretch 
of  the  close  of  the  second  mile,  "  Boots  "  was  for  the 
first  time  passing  the  judges'  stand.  On  they  went  with 
resistless  fury. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  third  mile  "  Boots,''"'  was 
seen  about  a  hundred  yards  in  advance.  This  some- 
what startled  the  spectators,  who  in  the  closeness  of  the 
running  between  "  Blannerhassett  "  and  "  Epaminon- 
das  "  had  for  a  moment  forgotten  all  about  him.  There 
he  was  though,  in  front,  and  pegging  away  with  hearty 
good  will — ahead  it  is  true  in  point  of  position,  but  ac- 


THE    fJREAT    FOUR-MILi:    DAY.  289 

tually  ;i  luilo  behind.  In  a  nioniont  thoy  were  upon 
him. 

"  Bouts  "  strove  for  about  six  feet  to  keep  his  posi- 
tion in  advance,  but  they  swept  by  hira,  and  after  they 
had  gone  out  of  sight  the  good  old  horse  had  all  his  run- 
ning to  himself,  and  cut  out  the  work  to  his  own  liking. 

The  fourth  mile  of  the  race  was  run  under  whip  and 
spur;  first  ''  Blan  ■'  and  then  '  Pajii^^  (as  the  specta- 
tors abreviated  their  learned  names)  was  ahead ;  the 
feeling  of  the  multitude  was  intense.  In  entering  the 
quarter  stretch  the  last  mile  ''  Boots  •'  was  once  more 
discernible,  and  nothing  daunted  by  the  clatter  of  hoofs, 
or  dispirited  by  the  gibes  of  such  as  happened  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  him,  was  maintaining  his  accustomed  gait 
steadily,  and  ju.st  rounded  the  turn,  as  the  ''two  bloods" 
swept  by  the  stand — a  dead  lock. 

According  to  the  rules  of  the  club,  a  dead  heat  was 
regarded  dm  though  none  had  been  run.  The  Boots 
party  contended  that  their  horse  was  not  distanced,  and 
to  this  view  of  the  case,  the  judges  unanimously  inclined. 
Upon  examination,  the  rules  were  positive  upon  the  sub- 
ject, and  had  "  Boots  "  bolted,  or  had  he  not  run  a  foot 
much  less  two  miles  of  the  four,  he  would  be  entitled  to 
start  a  second  time.  Indeed,  no  objection  was  made  by 
any  one,  none  could  be  made,  and  accordingly  it  was  de- 
termined to  put  him  again  in  the  field — the  fact  of  the 
matter  being,  that  his  owner  perceiving  that  the  old 
13 


290  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

horse  looked  better  for  his  exertion,  was  inclined  to  see 
the  day  out,  just  for  the  fun  of  the  thing. 

If  the  extra  exercise  of  the  race  improved  "^oo^s,"' 
it  had  quite  a  contrary  effect  upon  the  others.  They 
were  sadly  blown,  and  manifested  growing  symptoms  of 
distress.  In  those  days,  the  business  of  training  a  horse 
for  a  four-mile  race  was  beyond  the  skill  of  Western 
jockeys,  or  at  least  of  many  of  them,  and  the  art  of 
riding  in  a  manner  to  keep  a  horse  together,  and  husband 
him  for  after  heats,  w^as  known  to  but  few.  In  the 
present  case,  the  horses  were  both  over-trained,  and 
over-worked  in  the  race. 

As  soon  as  the  heat  was  done,  innumerable  boys  and 
grown-up  men  were  rubbing  them  down,  scraping  the 
foam  off  of  them  with  great  industry  and  perseverance. 
Covers  of  brightest  colors  were  put  over  them,  and  such 
pains  as  few  invalids  get,  were  bestowed  upon  them ; 
whilst  his  rider  hitched  ''Boots''  to  a  post,^nd  quietly 
sauntered  off  to  a  booth,  to  comfort  himself  with  ginger- 
bread and  a  glass  of  cider. 

When  the  time  allowed  for  rest  had  elapsed,  the  three 
horses  were  again  brought  to  the  post — but  this  time 
the  thorough-breds  had  become  quite  subdued,  either 
through  fatigue,  or  from  an  admiration  of  the  sober  de- 
portment of  the  strange  competitor  who  stood  beside 
them.  At  the  word  ''go,-'  they  all  three  "got  off" 
cleverly  together  for  the 

Second  Heat. — "  Boots ''  took  a  position  close  up, 


THE    (;\IK.\T    F(MR-M1LK    DAY.  .".U 

wliich,  l)y  the  help  of  such  coaxing  as  was  inherent  in  a 
stout  c;ine  used  by  Jesse  (tlic  black  boy  who  rode  liim), 
he  maintained  with  wonderful  preciNion.  The  crtirks 
went  otf  at  a  slow  gallop  ;  botii  riders  being  ordered  to 
go  gently  along.  In  this  way  they  ran  the  first  mile. 
The  second  mile  was  done  in  the  same  manner,  and  now 
for  the  first  time  was  heard  the  exhortation,  "go  it, 
Boots,''^  as  the  little  black  kept  closely  up.      Tiie  pace 

did  not  improve  the  third  mile,  both  Dr.  IJ and  J. 

n knowing   that   neither   horse   had   more    than  a 

short  brush  in  him.  Upon  the  fourth  mile  the  speed 
did  not  quicken,  until  Jesse,  taking  heart  from  his  close- 
ness to  the  leading  horses,  actually  challenged  the  hind- 
ermost  one  for  the  front.  Such  a  shout  as  went  up  upon 
this  rally,  was  never  before  heard  upon  tliat  field. 

"  Go  it,  i^oo/5,"  burst  from  every  mouth,  and  even  the 
ladies  moved  their  'kerchiefs  and  murmured  soft  ap- 
plause. But  chivalrous  as  the  efi'ort  was,  it  came  near 
costing  "  Boots  "  the  laurels  that  were  wreathing  for  his 
brow.  The  push  was  made  too  soon.  The  jockeys  be- 
came cognizant  of  the  proximity  of  the  unheralded 
scrub,  and  went  oflf  at  the  top  of  the  speed  of  their  re- 
spective horses.  "  Boots "  was  fast  falling  into  the 
roar ;  but  as  good  luck  would  have  it,  they  could  not 
quite  distance  him,  but  in  attempting  to  do  so,  they 
completely  used  up  the  ^' cracks.^'' 

Epamiiiondas  won  this  heat  by  a  nock.  The  stable 
boys  again  got  around   the  descendants  of  (jodolphin. 


292  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

who  indeed  required  their  attention  more  than  ever 
— for  though  they  had  not  run  more  than  half  a  mile  of 
the  heat,  that  was  enough  to  worst  them  terribly  in  their 
jaded  condition.  And  "  JBoots,^^  too,  fared  better  than 
before.  He  was  getting  to  be  a  feature  in  the  race,  and 
a  circumstance  attending  the  betting  made  him  noAV  an 
object  of  the  greatest  interest. 

After  the  dead  heat,  the  betting  began.  The  result 
of  that  heat  proved  the  horses  to  be  so  nearly  of  equal 
speed  and  spirit,  that  great  confidence  was  j)laced  in  the 
representations  of  their  owners,  and  parties  belted  as 
they  were  partial  to  the  one  or  the  other  of  them 

It  so  haj^pened  that  no  one  seemed  to  take  "  Boots^'' 
into  the  account  in  making  bets,  and  by  that  very  means 
he  had  as  much  money  depending  upon  him  as  either  of 
the  other  horses. 

Every  one  who  proposed  a  wager,  betted  that  either 

Dr.  B 's  "  Pam  "  or  J.  H 's  "  Blan"  would  win 

the  purse. 

Now  the  takers  of  such  offers  were  ot  course  "  field- 
ers;" for  they  in  fact  betted,  that  the  horse  named  would 
not  take  their  money,  and  consequently,  if  "  Boots  "  won 
it,  they  were  as  much  gainers  as  though  the  nag  they 
relied  upon  had  won  it.  Hence  every  bet  taken  was,  in 
technical  term,  upon  "  the  field,"  though  the  party  that 
took  it,  might  have  forgotten  at  the  time  that  there  was 
such  a  horse  as  "  Boots.'''' 

It  will  be  seen  that  a  tissue  of  accidents  first  brought 


THK    <;UEAT    FOUR-MILE    DAY.  293 

the  little  Uiick  upon  the  field,  cn«ibled  him  to  start  for 
the  second  heat,  procured  tor  liiin  a  vast  number  of  un- 
conscious backers,  and  made  liim,  at  the  present  stage 
of  the  race,  quite  a  topic  of  speculation. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  his  comfort  came  to  be  pro- 
vided for ;  and  one  assiduous  groom  ventured  to  scrape 
him  down  with  a  thin  lath.  Whereupon  "  Boots,^^  who 
had  never  been  known  to  perspire  since  the  last  war, 
when  he  was  taken  in  Canada  by  the  person  of  whom  his 
present  owner  purchased  him  ;  looked  around,  and  not 
being  able  to  recognize  the  follow,  or  divine  what  on 
earth  he  was  up  to,  kicked  out  his  left  hind  leg  in  evi- 
dent disgust. 

This  was  the  only  token  of  concern  in  the  proceed- 
ings going  on,  that  the  pony  had  given  during  the  day, 
but  that,  slight  as  it  was.  gave  great  hope  to  the 
"  fielders,''  for  the  other  horses,  albeit  so  spry  in  the 
beginning,  had  got  beyond  the  kicking  point ;  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  manipulation  of  their  trainers  with  com- 
mendable, but  ominous  docility. 

"When  the  interval  of  rest  between  the  heats  had  ex- 
pired, "  Boots  ''  alone,  seemed  qualified  for  a  repetition 
of  the  preceding  exercises.  He  first  made  his  appear- 
ance at  the  post,  in  consequence  of  his  not  requiring 
time  for  saddling.  He  stood  for  some  moments  (juictly, 
as  usual,  with  his  nose  on  a  parallel  with  the  judges' 
stand  ;  but  as  the  trainers  brought  up  EjKiminomlas 
and  BfannerhasscU  he  turned  his  head  sidewisc,  looked 


294  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

wistfully  for  a  moment  upon  them,  and  exhaled  a  long, 
deep  sigh — whether  of  pity  at  the  dejected  aspect  and 
distressed  condition  of  the  whilom  gallant  steeds,  or  on 
account  of  some  faint  notion  of  the  business  he  was  en- 
gaged in,  then  for  the  first  time  penetrating  the  integu- 
ments of  his  simple  understanding,  has  not  been  satis- 
factorily explained. 

Had  he  been  aware  that  money  was  staked  upon 
him, — that  he  was  in  fact  accessory  to  gambling, — it  is  a 
question  if  he  would  not  have  sulked  outright  ;  for 
"  Boots^^  although  bred  in  a  savage  country,  had  kept 
moral  society  for  many  years ;  and  must  have  imbibed 
serious,  and  temperance  ideas.  But  the  word  "go"  was 
given,  and  they  were  all  three  off  for  the 

Third  Heat. — For  the  first  time  the  little  black 
was  ahead,  both  in  point  of  fact  and  position.  He  went 
off  just  as  at  the  commencement  of  the  race,  with  per- 
haps a  trifle  more  alacrity  from  practice, 

Jesse,  who  had  been  lectured  upon  the  impropriety 
of  his  brush  in  the  second  heat,  so  soon  as  the  last  half 
of  the  fourth  mile,  imagined  that  he  had  done  wrong  in 
taking  the  lead,  and  set  about  holding  the  pony  up  until 
the  others  passed  by  ;  but  "  Boots^''''  to  the  sore  mortifi- 
cation of  his  rider,  would  not  be  held  up.  He  had  got 
a  taste  of  the  boy's  bludgeon,  and  not  liking  its  savor, 
pushed  on,  despite  the  most  obstinate  endeavors  to  re- 
strain his  impetuosity. 

The  thorough-breds  this  time,  not  only  could  endure 


THE    GREAT    FOUR-MILE    DAY.  295 

the  bltick's  |»roxiiuity,  but  alvdutely  trailed  him  the 
whole  of  the  fir.st  mile.  On  entering  the  second,  either 
through  mortified  pride,  or  more  positive  malice,  both 
the  jockeys  were  ordered  to  go  ahead  of  the  scrub. 
Spurs  were  put  in  requisition,  and  the  flagged  and  worn 
horses  got  by  the  pony  before  they  came  into  the  back 
stretch.  After  shaking  off  their  ignoble  competitor,  they 
relapsed  into  the  stinted  stride  they  set  out  with.  But 
Jesse  now  had  become  enamored  of  the  frontj  and  on  he 
urged  the  pony,  who,  nothing  loth,  crawled  up  to  them, 
and  came  round  the  quarter  stretch  neck  and  neck  with 
the  foremost. 

In  the  straight  work,  first  one  and  then  the  othei 
gilded  by  him.  But  these  fits  and  starts  in  running 
could  not  avail  against  a  steady  pace.  "  Boots  "  would 
come  up  with  them,  and  at  every  subsequent  attempt  it 
was  becoming  palpably  more  diflScult  to  part  company 
with  him. 

On  onterhig  the  third  mile,  Epaminondas  was  evi- 
dently lame,  and  when  he  tried  to  widen  the  distance 
between  him  and  ^^ Boots''''  on  the  back  stretch,  gave  up: 
the  little  Uack  went  by  him  for  good,  and  a  shout  of 
applause  arose,  that  had  wellnigh  made  old  Entellus's 
sceptre  tremble  in  his  grasp. 

The  contest  was  now  narrowed  down  to  "  Boots  " 
and  Blimncrhassctt, — and  neither  of  them  had  won  a 
heat. 

The  four  gentlemen  who   entered   the   pony,  imme- 


296  THE    HIVE    OF    THE   BEE-HUNTER. 

diately  galloped  in  every  direction  over  the  field,  en- 
couraging Jesse  to  get  the  descendant  of  Cuff  along ; 
straight  ahead,  the  little  black  held  the  even  tenor  of 
his  way,  whilst  "  Blan  "  would  first  leave  him  a  rod, 
and  then  drop  back  to  him,  in  flickering  fits  of  "  game 
and  gravel." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  mile,  "  Boots  "  was 
well  up  ;  on  going  round  the  turn  he  passed  "  Blan  "  a 
neck.  (Immense  cheering.)  In  the  straight  running 
"  Blan  "  again  sloped  by  the  pony,  but  remained  satis- 
fied with  getting  ahead  the  least  bit  imaginable.  This 
position  was  maintained  to  the  turn,  when  "  Boots  " 
came  alongside,  and  before  entering  the  quarter  stretch, 
drew  out  a  full  length  in  advance,  amid  deafening  shouts 
of  "go  it.  Boots,"  "go  it,  darkey,"  "pop  him,  sooty," 
"  give  him  Jesse ;  "  and  such  like  exclamations  of  dis- 
paraging signification,  but  used  in  the  most  laudatory 
sense  of  approbation. 

Jesse,  unfortunately,  in  his  eagerness  to  win  the 
heat ;  used  his  cudgel  carelessly,  and  accidentally  gave 
the  black  a  clip  on  the  head,  which  so  "  disgentled  "  him 
that  he  turned  almost  entirely  around  before  he  could 
be  checked.  In  this  way,  he  lost  his  advantage  just  as 
he  reached  the  distance  stand,  and  it  was  well  for  him 
that  he  had  got  that  far,  as  "  Boots  "  showed  the  most 
implacable  resentment  to  .such  treatment,  and  tried  to 
run  in  every  direction  but  the  right  one. 

Indeed  he  had  not  before  exhibited  such  spirit ;    he 


THE    GREAT    FOUR-MILE    DAY.  297 

actually  reared  up,  and  wasted  enough  energy  in  expos- 
tulating against  any  such  phrenological  experiments  be- 
ing made  upon  him,  to  have  won  the  heat,  had  it  been 
properly  directed.  He  could  not  be  induced  to  resume 
operations  until  "  Blan  "'  had  passed  the  judges'  stand, 
and  was  pronounced  winner  of  the  heat. 

At  the  termination  of  this  heat,  the  nature  of  the 
betting  was  fully  developed.  The  "  Blan  "  party  upon 
claiming  their  stakes — Ej)amitiondas  being  distanced — 
discovered  that  "  Boots  "  stood  between  them  and  the 
spoils.  They  had  raised  a  feeble  shout  upon  the  issue 
of  the  heat,  futile  enough ;  for  they  assumed  to  consider 
a  triumph  over  "  Boots  "  as  a  sorry  affair,  but  when  they 
understood  that  the  pony  was  entitled  to  start  a  fourth 
time,  even  that  faint  ejaculation,  melted  down  to  a  du- 
bious mutter. 

The  rules  of  the  club  re(|uircd  a  horse  to  win  one  of 
the  three  first  heats  to  enable  him  to  keep  upon  the 
track.  Strange  to  say  there  was  greater  doubt  concern- 
ing this  last  mile  than  there  was  respecting  "  Boots  " 
being  distanced  the  first  heat.  The  judges  had  great 
trouble  in  deciding  the  difliiculty.  Three  heats  had  been 
run,  and  *'  Boots  "  had  won  neither ;  but  then  the  first 
was  declared  null  and  void,  ergo,  only  two  had  been,  in 
law,  accomplished. 

The  Epaminondas  party  here  stepped  in,  as  much 
for  the  principle,  as  the  interest  of  the  thing,  and  de- 
clared that  ''  Boots  '■  had  a  right  to  run  a  fourth  heat. 
13* 


298  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 

Dr.  B ,  who,  now  that  his  horse  was  distanced,  would 

give  his  left  hand  to  see  J.  H 's  nag  done  the  same 

by,  declared  openly  for  the  pony;  and  the  judges  "being 
Bufficiently  advised,"  decided  that  way.  This  was  the 
most  reasonable,  as  well  as  the  most  popular  judgment ; 
for  one  half  of  those  who  betted  on  "  Blan,"  being,  in 
sporting  terms,  "  fielders,"  and  who,  consequently,  could 
not  lose,  were  vociferous  for  the  continuance  of  the  sport. 

This  question  settled,  betters  were  puzzled  how  to 
lay  out  their  money.  BlannerhasscU  had  yet  friends 
who  would  not  hedge.  They  could  not  realize  the  pos- 
sibility of  his  being  beat  by  a  scrub  like  "  Boots^^''  and 

J.  H taking  courage  from  the  pony's  strange  freak 

at  the  end  of  the  last  heat,  vaunted  his  nag's  prowess 
anew,  as  well  to  assure  his  friends,  as  to  brag  off  the 
"  Boots'  "  people. 

Strange  rumors  were  circulated  respecting  the  con- 
dition of  each  horse.  The  trainer  of  "  Blan  "  kept  the 
people,  as  far  as  possible,  from  inspecting  the  state  of 
his  charge,  whilst  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the 
field,  that  chose  to  do  so,  was  allowed  to  look  on  "^oois," 
and  get  upon  his  back  too,  as  to  that  matter. 

The  old  pony  looked  none  the  worse  for  wear,  and 
how  to  account  for  his  fantastic  behavior,  was  perplex- 
ing enough.  Some  said  he  sulked,  others  that  he  had 
given  way  internally, — one  or  two  insinuated  foul  deal- 
ings. None,  however,  divined  the  real  cause,  except 
Jesse,  who  kept  it  to  himself,  not  even  venturing  to  in- 


THE    GREAT    FOUR  MILE    DAY.  299 

furiii  his  master  that  the  faithful  ercaturc  he  bestrode 
had  only  paused  in  his  career  to  remonstrate  against  an 
unintentional,  yet  serious  and  glaring  personal  injury. 

What  with  the  fear  of  a  repetition  of  the  pony's  ca- 
prices, and  the  well-founded  belief  that  Dlaiuicrhassett 
was  used  up,  the  public  were  in  an  equipoise  in  regard 
to  the  result.  Betting  was  going  on  pretty  freely,  when 
the  horses  were  summoned  to  the 

Last  Heat. — The  pony  showed  little  change  since 
he  last  "  toed  the  mark,"  unless  perhaps  a  dogged  air, 
arising  as  much  from  a  sense  of  wrong,  as  an  internal 
speculation  as  to  whether  the  affair  was  ever  coming  to 
an  end. 

Blanncrhassett  looked  worse  than  his  namesake  did 
when  charged  with  high  treason.  Tlie  high-bred  steed 
was  in  no  mood  to  take  on  airs.  He  came  up  panting 
and  faint,  and  in  his  distress  took  no  notice  whatever  of 
'  Boots^^'  who,  as  soon  as  the  boy  mounted  him,  mani- 
fested a  strange  anxiety  to  push  on.  In  his  eagerness 
to  get  his  head  out  of  the  way  of  Jesse's  stick,  he  actu- 
ally made  a  false  start,  and  had  to  be  called  back. 

AVhen  the  word  was  given,  "  Boots  "  got  greatly  the 
start.  It  was  enough  that  Jesse  held  his  cudgel  so  as 
to  remind  him  tliat  it  was  in  readiness;  away  he  scamp- 
ered, regardless  alike  of  the  shouts  of  the  multitude, 
and  the  abuse  of  the  Blannerhassetts^  whose  horse  was 
quite  stiff  at  the  go  off,  and  lost  ground  considerably  for 
the  fir.'^t  half  mile.  On  getting  a  little  warm,  ho  went 
bettrr.  )>ut  tlic  puny  was  in  no  humor  t.i  w.iit  fnr  liim 


300  THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUx\TER. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  mile,  "  Boots  "  was  two  hun- 
dred yards  ahead,  aud  pegging  away  as  if  the  devil  was 
behind  him,  and  a  phantom  corn  heap  in  front. 

Blan7ierhasseWs  jockey  now  used  whip  and  spur  to 
overtake  the  flying  imp — but  it  was  in  vain.  His  horse 
responded  to  the  steel  and  lash  for  a  few  strides,  and 
then  gave  out ;  fatigued, — lamed, — and  broken  down. 

Meanwhile  "  Boots,^^  not  having  the  reputation  of 
Blannerhassett  before  his  eyes,  but  the  dread  of  the 
cudgel  behind  him,  was  rattling  it  off  at  a  merry  pace. 
Upon  entering  the  third  mile  of  the  heat  Jesse  came  in 
view  of  his  antagonist,  pretty  near  the  spot  where  he 
was  overtaken  himself,  in  the  beginning  of  the  day.  The 
boy  could  not  for  a  time  comprehend  how  ''  Blan  "  got 
before  him,  and  was  evidently  becoming  bewildered  with 

the  phenomenon,  when  the  Hon.  J.  L told  him  to 

push  on,  and  beat  the  blooded   stock,  as  far  as  he  had 
been  beaten. 

The  darkey  understanding  now  that  he  had  gained  a 
mile,  showed  his  ivory  to  the  spectators  and  his  cudgel 
to  "  Boots;'  and  swept  by  the  done-up  nag,  like  a  ball 
fired  out  of  a  cannon  charged  with  slow  matches. 

I  will  make  no  attempt  to  describe  the  shouts  of  the 
people  at  the  issue,  until  I  can  dip  my  pen  in  electricity 
to  write  in  thunder  drops, — or  in  the  prism,  to  depict 
the  eye  of  beauty  as  it  flashed  applause,  to  the  unher- 
alded champion. 

This  feat  achieved, — there  was   no   competitor  for 


THE    GREAT    FOUR  MILE    DAY.  oOl 

"  Boots  "  but  the  sun.  Jesse  made  it  his  ambition  to 
finisli  the  race  by  the  light  of  liis  rays,  and  he  was  as 
proud  as  a  sceptred  monarch,  when  looking  over  the 
heads  of  the  throng  that  gathered  around  the  victorious 
"  Boots  "  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  heat,  he  saw  the 
glorious  orb  yet  above  the  horizon,  and  looking  gladly 
upon  him  as  though  he  would  bless  him  before  he  went 
to  bed. 

"  Boots  ''  was  near  sharing  the  fate  of  the  Grecian, 
who  was  smothered  to  death  in  the  theatre,  by  wreaths 
and  shawls  showered  down  upon  him  in  glorification.  He 
could  scarcely  breathe,  for  the  multitudes  that  pressed 
upon  him  in  one  way  or  another,  to  do  him  honor.  And 
Jesse,  too,  got  a  large  share  of  plaudits  and  dimes  con- 
formably ;  and  even  I  came  in  for  gleanings  of  regard, 
as  I  rode  home  upon  the  pony  after  the  jubilation. 

There  were  no  cattle-painters  there,  nor  lithograph- 
ers, nor  daguerreotypists;  else  "  .fioo^s  "  and  his  rider 
would  have  been  transmitted  to  posterity  in  their  linea- 
ments of  that  day.  It  has  fallen  upon  feeble  hands  to 
preserve  some  faint  remembrance  of  them  in  this  ac- 
count, which  is  as  inferior  to  the  merits  of  the  theme,  as 
the  snuffed  candle  is  to  the  brilliant  orb  of  day. 


THE  WAY  THAT  AMERICANS  GO  DOWN 
HILL. 

"But  wbo  has  not  been  both  wearied  and  amused  -with  the  slo-w  caution  of 
the  German  drivers  ?  At  every  little  descent  on  the  road,  that  it  would  almost 
require  a  spirit-level  to  discern  that  it  is  a  descent,  he  dismounts,  and  puts  on 
his  drag.  On  a  road  of  the  gentlest  undulations,  where  a  heavy  English  coach 
would  goat  the  rate  often  English  miles  an  hour,  without  drag  or  pause,  up  hill 
or  down,  he  is  continually  alighting  and  putting  on  one  or  both  drags,  alighting 
and  ascending  with  a  patience  and  perseverance  that  amazes  you.  Nay,  in 
many  states,  this  caution  is  evinced  also  by  the  government,  and  is  forced  on 
the  driver,  particularly  in  Bavaria,  Wurtemberg,  and  Austria,  by  a  post  by  the 
way-side,  standing  at  the  top  of  every  slope  on  the  road,  having  painted  on  a 
board,  a  black  and  conspicuous  drag,  and  announcing  a  fine,  of  commonly  sis 
florins  (ten  shillings)  on  any  loaded  carnage  which  shall  descend  without  the 
drag  on.  In  every  thing  they  are  continually  guarding  against  those  accidents 
which  result  from  hurry,  or  slightness  of  construction."— ^c>«/?Y^"s  Moral  and 
Doinestic  Life  in  Germany. 

The  stage  in  which  we  travelled  across  "  the  Alleganies," 
was  one  of  the  then  called  "  Transit  line."  It  was,  as  the 
driver  termed  it,  '^  a  rushing  affair,"  and  managed,  by  a 
refined  cruelty  to  dumb  beasts,  to  keep  a  little  ahead  of 
the  "  Opposition,"  which  seemed  ever  to  come  clatter- 
ing in  our  rear,  like  some  ill-timed  spirit,  never  destined 
exactly  to  reach,  but  always  to  be  near  us. 


THE    WAY    THAT    AMERICANS    GO    DOWN    HILL.        303 

The  drivers  of  our  different  "  changes,"  all  seemed 
to  be  made  upon  the  go-ahead  principle,  and  looked  upon 
nothing  as  really  disgraceful,  but  being  behind  the  stage 
that  so  perseveringly  pursued  us.  Unfortunately  too, 
for  our  safety,  we  went  in  an  "  extra,"  and  managed,  by 
a  freak  of  fortune,  to  arrive  at  the  different  stations, 
where  drivers  and  horses  were  changed,  just  as  the  former 
had  got  comfortably  to  bed  ;  and  it  was  not  the  least 
interesting  portion  of  my  thoughts,  that  every  one  of 
these  Jehus  made  the  most  solemn  protestations,  that 
he  would  ''  upset  us  over  some  precipice  not  less  than 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  high,  and  knock  us  into 
such  a  perfect  nonenity,  that  it  would  save  the  coroner 
the  trouble  of  calling  a  jury  to  sit  upon  our  remains." 

It  is  nine  years  since,  and  if  the  winter  of  that  year 
is  not  set  down  as  "  remarkably  cold  "  in  the  almanacs, 
it  shows  a  want  of  care  in  those  useful  annuals. 

We  say  it  is  nine  years  since  we  crossed  the  Alle- 
ganies.  At  the  particular  time  to  which  we  allude, 
the  "  oldest  inhabitant  "  of  the  country  (and  we  met 
him  on  the  road  side)  informed  us  that  he  had  no  recol- 
lection of  such  a  severe  season.  That  we  could  live 
through  such  a  night  would  have  been  deemed  impos- 
sible, could  its  perils  have  been  anticipated,  before  they 
were  experienced. 

The  fire  in  every  house  we  passed  smoked  like  a  fur- 
nace, and  around  its  genial  warmth  were  crowded  groups 


304 


THE    HIVE    OF    THE    BEE-HUNTER. 


of  men,  women,  and   children,  who  looked  as  if  they 
might  have  been  born  in  the  workshop  of  Vulcan. 

The  road  over  which  we  travelled  was  macadamized, 
and  then  frozen  ;  it  was  as  hard  as  nature  will  permit, 
and  the  tramping  of  the  horses'  feet  upon  it  sounded  in 
the  frosty  air  as  if  they  were  rushing  across  a  continuous 
bridge. 

The  inside  of  the  stage-coach  is  a  wonder ;  it  is  a 
perfect  denial  to  Newton's  theory,  that  two  things,  or 
twenty,  cannot  occupy  the  same  place  at  the  same  time. 
The  one  we  travelled  in  was  perfectly  full  of  seats,  straw, 
buffalo  robes,  hat-boxes,  rifles,  flute  cases,  and  small  par- 
cels— and  yet  nine  men — the  very  nine  muses  at  times 
(all  the  cider  along  the  road  was  frozen,  and  we  drank 
the  heart  of  it),  stowed  themselves  away  within  its 
bowels ;  but  how,  we  leave  to  the  masters  of  exhausted 
air-pumps  and  hydraulic  presses  to  imagine. 

We  all,  of  course,  ft-oze,  more  or  less,  but  it  was  in 
streaks  ;  the  curtains  of  the  stage  were  fastened  down 
and  made  tight,  and  then,  like  pigs,  we  quarrelled  our- 
selves into  the  snuggest  possible  position  and  place ;  it 
being  considered  fortunate  to  be  in  the  centre,  as  we 
then  parted  with  least  heat,  to  satisfy  the  craving  appe- 
tite of  Jack  Frost,  who  penetrated  every  little  hole  and 
nook,  and  delighted  himself  in  painting  fantastic  figures 
upon  the  different  objects  exposed  to  his  influence,  out 
of  our  misery  and  breath. 

By  one  of  those  extraordinary  phenomena  exhibited 


THE    WAV     THAI     AMERICANS    GO    DOWN    HILL.         305 

iu  the  climatf  ni  mu  favored  country,  we  unexpectedly 
found  ourselves  travelling  over  a  road  that. was  covered 
with  a  frozen  sleet,  for  cold  as  the  season  was,  there  was 
no  snow  ;  the  horses'  shoes  consequently  had  no  corks  on 
them  worth  noticing,  and  the  iron-bound  wheels,  on  this 
change  in  the  surface  of  the  earth,  seemed  to  have  so 
little  hold  upon  the  road  that  we  almost  expected  they 
would  make  an  effort  to  leave  it,  and  break  our  nocks  as 
a  reward  for  their  aspirations.  On  we  went,  however, 
and  as  night  came  on,  the  darkness  enveloped  us  in  a 
kind  of  cloud, — the  ice-glazed  surface  of  the  ground  re- 
flecting upwards  a  dull,  mysterious  light. 

Our  whereabouts  never  troubled  us ;  all  places  be- 
tween the  one  we  were  anxious  to  reach,  and  where  we 
were,  made  no  impression  upon  us ;  and  perhaps  we 
would  never  have  known  a  single  particular  place,  but 
for  the  incident  about  to  be  detailed. 

I  think  that  all  my  companions,  as  well  as  myself, 
were  asleep,  when  I  was  awaked  by  that  peculiar  sawing 
motion  which  a  stage  body  makes  upon  its  springs  when 
suddenly  stopped. 

"What's  the  matter  now  :  was  the  general  excla- 
mation of  the  "insides"  to  the  driver;  who  was  dis- 
covered through  the  glass  window  on  the  ground,  beat- 
iwr  his  arms  around  his  body  with  a  vehemence  that 
almost  raised  him  into  the  air. 

"  Matter !  "  he  exclaimed,  sticking  his  nose  above 
a  woollen  blanket  that  was  tied  around  his  face,  which 


306         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTEK. 

from  the  cold  and  his  breath  was  frosted  like  a  wedding- 
cake,  "  matter  enough ;  here  we  are  on  the  top  of  Ball 
Mountain,  the  drag-chain  broken,  and  I  am  so  confound- 
edly cold,  that  I  could  not  tie  a  knot  in  a  rope  if  I 
had  eighteen  thousand  hands." 

It  was  a  rueful  situation  truly.  I  jumped  out  of  the 
stage,  and  contemplated  the  prospect  near  and  at  a  dis- 
tance, with  mixed  feelings.  So  absorbed  did  I  soon  be- 
come,-that  I  lost  sight  of  the  unpleasant  situation  in 
which  we  were  placed,  and  regarded  only  the  appear- 
ance of  things  about  me,  disconnected  with  my  personal 
happiness. 

There  stood  the  stage,  upon  the  very  apex  of  the 
mountain,  the  hot  steaming  breath  of  my  half-smothered 
travellers  pouring  out  of  its  open  door  in  puffs  like  the 
respirations  of  a  mammoth.  The  driver,  poor  fellow, 
was  limping  about,  more  than  half  frozen, — growling, 
swearing,  and  threatening.  The  poor  horses  looked 
about  twenty  years  older  than  when  they  started,  their 
heads  being  whitened  with  the  frost.  They  stamped 
with  impatience  on  the  hard-ribbed  ice,  the  polished  iron 
of  their  shoes  looking  as  if  it  would  penetrate  their  flesh 
with  biting  cold. 

But  such  a  landscape  of  beauty — all  shrouded  in 
death,  we  never  saw  or  conceived  of,  and  one  like  it  is 
seldom  presented  to  the  eye.  Down  the  mountain  could 
be  traced  the  broad  road  in  serpentine  windings,  lessening 
in  the  distance  until  it  appeared  no  wider  than  a  foot- 


Tin:    WAV    THAT    AMKIIICANS    CO    DOWN    HILL.        30? 

path,  obscured  by  the  ravines  and  forest- trees  through 
which  it  ran ;  on  each  side  were  deep,  yawning  chasms, 
at  the  bottom  of  which  the  hardy  pines  sprung  upward 
a  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  yet  tliey  looked  from  where 
I  stood  like  creeping  plants.  The  very  mountain-tops 
spread  out  before  me  like  pyramids.  The  moon,  coming 
up  from  behind  the  distant  horizon,  shone  upon  this  vast 
prospect,  bathing  one  elevation  of  light  and  unotlicr  in 
darkness,  or  reflecting  her  silvery  rays  across  the  frozen 
ground  in  sparkling  gems,  as  if  some  eastern  princess 
scattered  diamonds  upon  a  marble  floor  ;  then  starting 
in  bold  relief  the  shaggy  rock-born  hemlock  and  poison 
laurel,  it  penetrated  the  deep  solitudes,  and  made  "  dark- 
ness visible,''  where  all  before  had  been  most  deep  ob- 
scurity. 

There  too  might  be  seen  the  heat,  driven  from  the 
eartli  in  light  fogs  by  the  intense  cold,  floating  upwards 
in  fantastic  forms,  and  spreading  out  in  thin  ether  as 
it  sought  more  elevated  regions. 

As  far  in  the  distance  in  every  direction  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  were  the  valleys  of  Penn,  all  silent  in  the 
embrace  of  winter  and  night,  calling  up  most  vividly  the 
emotions  of  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime. 

"  How  are  we  to  get  down  this  outrageous  hill, 
driver/"'  bawled  out  a  speculator  in  the  western  lands, 
who  had  amused  us,  through  the  day,  with  nice  calcu- 
lations of  how  much  he  could  have  saved  the  govern- 
ment and  iiimself,  liad  he  had  the  contract  of  making 
the  "  National  Road''  over  which  we  were  travelling. 


308         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTEK. 

The  reply  of  the  driver  Tvas  exceedingly  apt  and 
characteristic. 

"  There  is  no  difficulty,"  said  he,  "  in  getting  down 
the  hill,  but  you  well  know  there  are  a  variety  of  ways 
of  doing  the  same  thing;  the  drag-chain  would  be  of  little 
use,  as  the  wheel-tire  would  make  a  runner  of  it.  I  think 
you  had  better  all  take  your  places  inside,  say  your 
prayers,  and  let  me  put  off — and  if  yonder  grinning  moon 
has  a  wish  to  see  a  race  between  a  stage  and  four  horses 
down  '  Ball  Mountain,'  she'll  be  gratified,  and  see  sights 
that  would  make  a  locomotive  blush." 

The  prospect  was  rather  a  doleful  one ;  w^e  had 
about  ninety  chances  in  a  hundred  that  we  would  make 
a  "  smash  of  it,"  and  we  had  the  same  number  of  chances 
of  being  frozen  to  death  if  we  did  not  take  the  risk  of 
being  "  smashed,"  for  the  first  tavern  we  could  get  to 
was  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  The  driver  was  a 
smart  fellow,  and  had  some  hostage  in  the  world  worth 
living  for,  because  he  was  but  three  days  wedded — had 
he  been  married  six  months  we  would  not  have  trusted 
him. 

The  vote  was  taken ;  and  it  was  decided  to  ''  go 
ahead." 

If  I  were  to  describe  an  unpleasant  situation,  I 
should  say  that  it  was  to  be  in  a  stage,  the  door  closed 
on  you,  with  great  probabilities  that  it  will  be  opened  by 
your  head  thrusting  itself  through  the  oak  panels,  with 
the  axle  of  the  wheel  at  the  same  time  falling  across 


THE    MAY    THAT    AMERICANS    GO    DOW.V    HILL.        309 

your  breast.  It  seemed  to  nie  that  I  would  l»o,  witli  my 
companions,  if  I  entered  that  stage,  buried  alive  ;  so 
preferring  to  see  the  coming  catastrophe,  I  mounted  the 
driver's  seat  with  a  degree  of  resolution  that  would 
have  enabled  me  to  walk  under  a  falling  house  without 
winking. 

At  the  crack  of  the  whip,  the  horses,  impatient  of  the 
delay,  started  with  a  bound,  and  ran  on  a  short  distance, 
the  boot  of  the  stage  pointing  to  the  earth  ;  a  sudden 
reverse  of  this  position,  and  an  inclination  of  our  bodies 
forward,  told  too  plainly  that  we  were  on  the  descent. 
Now  commenced  a  race  between  gravitation  and  horse 
flesTi,  and  odds  would  have  been  safely  bet  on  the  former. 
At  one  time  we  swayed  to  and  fro  as  if  in  hammocks ; 
then  we  would  travel  a  hundred  yards  sideways,  boun- 
cing, crashing  about  like  mad. 

A  quarter  way  down  the  mountain — and  the  horses 
with  reeking-hot  sides  and  distended  nostrils  laid  them- 
selves down  to  their  work,  while  the  lashing  whip  cracked 
and  goaded  them  in  the  rear,  to  hasten  their  speed. 

The  driver,  with  a  coolness  that  never  forsook  him, 
guided  his  vehicle,  as  much  as  possible,  in  zig  zag  lines 
across  the  road.  Obstacles,  no  larger  than  pebbles, 
would  project  the  stage  into  the  air  as  if  it  had  been  an 
Indian-rubber  ball,  and  once  as  we  fell  into  a  rut,  we 
escaped  upsetting  by  a  gentle  tap  from  the  stump  of  a 
cedar  tree  upon  the  hub  of  the  wheel,  that  righted  us 
with  the  swiftness  of  liglitning. 


310  THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

On  we  went — tlie  blood  starting  in  my  chilled  frame 
diffusing  over  me  a  glowing  heat,  until  I  wiped  huge 
drops  of  perspiration  from  my  brow,  and  breathed  in  the 
cold  air  as  if  I  were  smothering.  The  dull,  stunning 
sound  that  now  marked  our  progress,  was  scarcely  re- 
lieved by  the  clattering  hoofs  of  the  horses,  and  the  mo- 
tion became  perfectly  steady,  except  when  a  piece  of  ice 
would  explode  from  under  the  wheels  as  if  burst  with 
powder. 

Almost  with  the  speed  of  thought  we  rushed  on, 
and  the  critical  moment  of  our  safety  came.  The  stum- 
bling of  a  horse — the  breaking  of  a  strap — a  too  strongly- 
drawn  breath,  almost,  would  have,  with  the  speed  "we 
were  then  making,  projected  us  over  the  mountain-side 
as  if  shot  from  a  cannon,  and  hurled  us  on  the  frozen 
ground  and  hard  rocks  beneath. 

The  driver,  with  distended  eyes,  and  with  an  ex- 
pression of  intellectual  excitement,  played  his  part  well, 
and  fortune  favored  us. 

As  we  made  the  last  turn  in  the  road,  the  stage  for 
an  instant  vibrated  between  safety  and  destruction, — 
running  for  several  yards  upon  one  side,  it  displayed  two 
wheels  in  the  air,  whirling  with  a  swiftness  that  rendered 
them  almost  invisible.  With  a  severe  contusion  it 
righted — the  driver  shouted — and  we  were  rushing  vp 
an  (Lscent. 

For  a  moment  the  stage  and  horses  went  on,  and 
it  was  but  for  a  moment,  for   the  heavy  body  lately 


Tin;     WAV      rilAl     AMKKICANS    (.()     DDW.N     lltl.L.  oil 

full  of  life,  settled  back  upon  the  traces  a  dead  weight, 
dragging  the  poor  animals  in  one  confused  heap  down- 
wards, until,  shaking  violently  on  its  springs,  it  stood 
still. 

'•  A  pretty  severe  tug,"  said  one  of  the  insiders  to 
the  driver,  as  he  stretched  himself,  with  a  yawn. 

"  "NVell,  I  rather  think  it  was,"  said  Jehu,  with  a 
smile   of   ineflfable   disdain.      "  I've    driv  on   this   road 

fifteen  years,  but  I  never  was  so  near as  to-night. 

If  I  was  on  t'other  side  of  '  Ball  Mountain,'  and  my 
wife  on  this  (only  three  days  married,  recollect),  I  would 
not  drive  that  stage  down  '  Ball  Mountain,'  as  I  have 
to-night,  to  keep  her  from  running  away  with  a  darkey." 

"  Why,  you  don't  think  there  was  any  real  danger, 
do  you  ? "  inquired  another  '  insider,'  thrusting  his 
head  into  the  cold  air. 

"  I  calculate  I  do,"  said  the  driver  contemptuously. 
"  If  the  oflF  fore-leader,  when  I  reached  the  '  devil's 
rut,' "  he  continued,  "  had  fallen,  as  he  intended,  your 
body  would  now  be  as  flat  as  either  back-seat  cushion 
in  that  stage." 

"  Lord,  bless  us,  is  it  possible  !  ''  sighed  another 
'  insider;'  "  but  it  is  all  very  well  we  have  escaped,  and 
we  must  run  a  little  risk  rather  than  be  dilaved  in  our 
journey. 

Appreciating  more  than  my  fellow-travellers,  the 
terrible  ordeal  through  which  we  had  just  passed,  I 
hav«'   ()ft»Mi   in    my  dreams    fancied   niv-,  If   ,,ii  a  >tagc- 


312         THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER. 

coach,  just  tumbling  down  the  ravines  that  yawn  on  the 
sides  of  "  Ball  Mountain,"  and  when  I  have  started  into 
wakefulness,  I  have  speculated  on  that  principle  of  the 
American  character  that  is  ever  impelling  it  forward  ; 
but  it  never  forcibly  struck  me  as  a  national  peculiarity, 
until  I  read  Howitt's  journey  down  hill  among  the 
sturdy  Germans  of  the  Old  World. 


THE    END. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA        "Hl 

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THE  HIVE  OF  THE  BEE-HUNTER.  A  REPOSITORY 


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